


if we don't bend then this might break

by DuskFalling



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-16
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-04-26 17:09:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 30,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5013007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DuskFalling/pseuds/DuskFalling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Laura Hollis accidentally saves the life of a young monarch and finds herself in the service of said obnoxious princess.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I won't burn out in this place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title from Only Love- PVRIS.
> 
> This is very loosely based on Merlin, but it's really just an excuse for me to write an au wherein I ignore all gender roles and historical accuracy to have Hollstein go on medieval fantasy adventures. Enjoy?

Laura Hollis was six years old when she first discovered she had magic. It had been a week before Winter Solstice and her father had just brought in the last of the firewood, slightly soggy from the snow. They weren't quite poor, but it had been a rough season and it was hard enough to ensure there was food on the table, let alone keep a good stock of wood on hand, so they'd had to make the most with what they had.

None of this had been a concern for little Laura, however. Both of her parents had made sure she never had to worry. Instead, it had been her desire to help her father when he'd struggled to light the fire that prompted the magic. He'd been striking matches trying to get the logs to catch for several minutes when Laura had stared into the fireplace, a slight frown on her childish face, and wished the fire would just spring to life already so her father could continue the story he'd been telling.

And just like that, flames had roared to life.

Her father had jumped back in shock before turning to exchange startled expressions with his wife. Once they had realized what had happened, they'd sat Laura down to explain magic to her. How, should it ever manifest again, she had to be careful - both in how she used it and who knew about it. It wouldn't be until years later that Laura understood the latter instruction.

-

At eleven, it became clear to Laura how dangerous her magic truly was. Not the magic itself, of course; she'd never had a problem learning to control it and her parents had been as supportive as could be. No, it was the threat of those who feared and reviled the very existence of magic that was the danger.

Laura's mother had been visiting her parents - Laura's grandparents - in the city. It was little more than a day away and she'd only be staying the one night, to return three days later for the spring harvest Laura and her father had stayed behind to prepare for.

She never came back.

Laura and her father would learn, after a week of worrying, that mercenaries had stopped her carriage and killed her. Laura had never gotten all the details, her father had wanted to "protect" her from the truth, but she did know the sellswords claimed to have done it on behalf of the crown. The royal guard, in charge of such matters, disavowed all knowledge, of course. It was hardly a secret that the Queen hated all those associated with magic, though, and even at eleven Laura didn't believe for a minute that it wasn't she who was responsible for Laura's mother's death.

-

After this, Laura's father had grown increasingly protective. It was on Laura's seventeenth birthday that it was decided she'd move to Silas. She'd wanted a bit of freedom and with the increased patrols of soldiers that seemed to have it out for anyone with magic - even the young daughters of farmers - her father had finally relented, agreeing she'd be safer in a larger city where she could go unnoticed in the crowds. She was to live with her cousin Betty and write home weekly, at least.

It took months of planning and logistics to arrange the actual move. Between contacting Betty, sorting out living arrangements, planning the actual trip and what she'd do once she got there, making sure her father would indeed be okay without her, and stocking up on bear spray (her father had always been big on self-defense and had become borderline obsessive since the whole thing started), Laura was already exhausted by the time she had to actually leave.

She'd be taking a carriage driven by a family friend already headed in that direction (Laura wasn't sure if it was more luck or her father involved with that one), along with the neighbor's son, who was hoping to become a soldier (which would have been a mild concern, given the reason Laura was leaving in the first place, but they'd known Theo for years and while they may not have known him well, they knew him to be more bark than bite). She'd been packed for a week, not having much to take with her. She'd said her goodbyes to her handful of friends. She was ready.

Then she saw her father. He was a rather large man with a somewhat scruffy beard and kind eyes. And he was crying.

Tears prickled at the corners of Laura's eyes and she found herself launching her tiny body at him. He chuckled deep in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. He smelled of wood smoke and soil and faintly of something uniquely him. ( _Home._ )

"I'm going to miss you, Dad," she said truthfully. Maybe it had been her idea to strike out on her own but saying farewell, even if only until holidays when they'd make an effort to visit, was still surprisingly difficult.

"I'll miss you, too, kiddo," he rumbled. "You be careful, now. Remember what I taught you about using your magic defensively. Don't travel alone at night-"

"Don't go home with any strangers, watch out for thugs and bears, don't stay out in the rain unless I want to get sick...I know, Dad. I'll be fine, I promise," she assured him. He still looked mildly concerned but, with a final kiss to the forehead, he let her go when the carriage rolled up.

Throwing her one large bag with all the worldly possessions she'd need in, Laura clambered into the carriage next to where Theo was already seated. She looked out the window, waving to her father until he disappeared from sight and they began to exit the village.

-

It took just over a week and a half to get to Silas. The royal castle loomed on the horizon on their approach. A guard stopped them at the gates and Laura's attention snapped away from the foreboding feeling she had looking up at the castle. She felt her palms begin to sweat as the guard questioned the driver and eyed them all suspiciously. Something the driver said had worked though because after a couple minutes the guard let them pass without a search beyond looking in the back to make sure they weren't smuggling a lion in or something (Laura really had no idea what they expected).

Laura's tense muscles began to relax until Theo commented, "Security's pretty tight around here."

The driver leaned down to murmur through the front window beside him so only they could hear, "Don't go spreading it around, but I hear Her Majesty is getting paranoid. Not sure of what but I'd watch what you say in mixed company if I were you."

Nervousness flooded Laura again. What if she was wrong? What if this wasn't actually safer? Surely a few patrols every couple of weeks was less dangerous than the capital. Even if they were getting more aggressive and suspicious. Though the searches were getting more invasive and they had arrested a man in a neighbouring village simply for having a book of "undesirable quality." True they'd never searched her home or looked too closely at her, but maybe it was only a matter of time.

Laura was again drawn from her conflicting thoughts; this time by the carriage coming to a halt on the side of the cobblestone main road.

"Well, this is as far as I go. Think you can find your way from here?"

//

Carmilla really didn't care that she was the heir apparent and that William, ever the kiss-ass, resented her for it. She didn't care that, were it not for blood rights, he would likely be Silas's next ruler. (Though that, to be fair, was a relatively new development.) All she cared about was getting through the day.

It was her "duty" after her "absence" to train the new recruits. All things considered, she didn't particularly mind dealing with the knights, despite her mother seeing it as grunt work; punishment. She'd handle her responsibilities, and at least this one felt useful, like she was actually making a difference, no matter how small. Hands on. She could do that.

Perry was ready and waiting, armour in hand, by the time Carmilla returned to her chambers after breakfast.

"Your mother-"

"Insisted you babysit me. I know," Carmilla cut the maid off, perhaps a bit more harshly than intended. It was hardly her fault, after all.

Unfazed, Perry continued, "Requested I accompany you today and ensure your new armour fits properly."

Carmilla rolled her eyes. It was a thin excuse, at best, and her mother knew it. Which meant she wanted Carmilla to know she was keeping an eye on her. Well, she thought, at least it was only Perry. If she was going to have someone following her around all day to spy for her mother under the pretense of helping her settle in again, the redhead wasn't too objectionable.

Already stripping off her surcoat and boots and moving into the room as the heavy wood door banged shut behind her, Carmilla grabbed the padded under-armour off the table beside Perry. She'd prefer her leathers - easier to move in and quieter - but at least she wasn't expected to wear anything ceremonial. Perry helped her put the intricately engraved, polished steel cuirass on before scurrying off to retrieve a slightly worn arming sword, which Carmilla quirked a brow at upon Perry handing over.

"I thought perhaps you'd be more comfortable with something familiar," Perry said, cheeks turning slightly pink.

Carmilla said nothing but nodded her approval. She sheathed the blade easily and the two set off for the courtyard and a long day ahead.

 //

"Think you can find your way from here?"

Laura nodded, slinging her bag over her shoulder and stepping out of the carriage on slightly shaky legs. The driver tipped his hat at her and Theo gave an odd sort of half-wave, half salute as they parted. Laura watched them drive away until they turned a corner and she could no longer see them, then pulled out the somewhat crumpled piece of parchment with her directions scrawled on it.

Reading through the directions, she squinted up at a sign post, then back down to the parchment. Nodding once to herself, she pocketed the paper, turned on her heel, and walked straight into a solid steel wall. She stumbled back and the wall immediately reached out to grab her elbow, steadying her.

Laura blinked a few times as she looked up - and up and up - at the wall, which turned out not to be a large mass of sentient metal but a person. A very tall, red-haired person.

Laura blinked stupidly again, finding herself momentarily incapable of forming coherent sentences. A smile seemed to be warring with concern on the stranger's face.

"Are you okay?" the not-wall asked.

That snapped Laura out of her daze and she instantly started rambling, "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going, I didn't mean to-" a glance back down at the smooth, polished breastplate, "-dent your armour with my face, it's just I'm new in town and I don't really know where I'm going so I was checking the directions my soon-to-be roommate gave me but obviously I should pay more attention to where-"

"It's okay, relax," the person interrupted with a chuckle, holding out a hand. "I'm Danny."

Laura fumbled with her bag for a moment before shaking the proffered hand. "I'm Laura."

"Nice to meet you, Laura." Danny smiled. Laura found herself reflecting the expression easily. "So, you said you were a bit lost? Where are you trying to go?"

"Oh!" Laura fished out the parchment again, unfolding it and handing it to Danny with a gesture to Betty's address.

"That's actually," Danny turned to point down the street to Laura's right, "that way."

"Right. Um, thanks," Laura said, accepting the directions back.

"Do you want me to walk you there?" Danny offered.

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to-"

"It's my pleasure," Danny assured her.

Laura bit her lip; her father would be telling her not to (the little voice in the back of her mind that sounded suspiciously like him was screaming this fact), but the offer seemed genuine and she really could use the help. After a moment, she nodded and Danny grinned again.

"So where are you from?" Danny asked conversationally as she led Laura in the direction she'd indicated before.

"A little village out west of Le Fanu," Laura answered. "My father's a farmer there."

"My family lived around there before we moved to Silas about three years ago. I bet we were practically neighbours."

"Why'd you come to Silas?"

"My dad's a carpenter and my mother trains horses. When my dad got a job offer from the crown, it just made sense to move the whole family here," Danny said. "What brings you here?"

"Education," Laura replied hurriedly. It wasn't a lie, not really. There was a lot she could learn here that she'd never have access to back home. "Betty, the person I'm going to live with, is a scholar, training to be a physician."

Danny nodded along, seeming genuinely interested. They talked the entire short trip to Betty's and by the time they arrived, Laura was delighted to have already made a friend. Once she was sure Laura would be okay on her own, Danny rushed off to her first formal event as a knight with a quick "maybe we'll run into each other again" and general directions to the castle where she'd most easily be found.

The house Laura found herself in front of was rather small, but the street was quiet and clean. It was far enough off the beaten path that she was probably lucky to have so quickly met someone that knew their way around well enough to show her the way, though not so far that it was inconvenient or that she would worry about getting lost and not finding it again. The door itself was simple, with no sign on it, and Laura rapped her knuckles on it and waited, not wanting to just barge in without so much as knocking first.

"Come in," an annoyed voice called from within.

The door was unlocked, the knob turning easily as the door swung open. Laura stepped inside and was immediately taken aback by the towering stack of books on the table before her. A blonde head popped up from behind the small mountain and looked relieved upon spotting Laura in the doorway.

"I thought you were Natalie again. You're Laura right?" Betty (or at least who Laura assumed was Betty, for who else would look quite so beleaguered behind a mound of books in someone else's home?) asked. Laura nodded. "Come on in. I thought you weren't supposed to be here until Tuesday."

"It is Tuesday," Laura said. Betty looked horror-struck again and disappeared behind the books once more. "But, um, it's still early?" Laura tried to comfort her.

"No, no, no, that report was due and I have a test in a few hours and I needed to return this book to the library..." Betty was frantically muttering, seemingly more to herself than her new housemate.

"Um, can I help with anything?" Laura offered.

Betty's head peeked over the books again. The sound of shuffling papers ceased as she contemplated Laura for a moment, then said, "That would be great, actually. Until you find work, I could use an assistant." She didn't give Laura a chance to respond or object to this prospect before continuing, "You can put your stuff in that room back there, then can you take this book back to the library for me? It's just in the castle, I'm sure a guard or somebody can tell you the way. Thanks!"

As if in a puff of smoke, Betty vanished again the instant Laura's hand touched the book Betty had held out to her, zipping past her out the door with a coat in one hand and a stack of papers in the other. Not having anything else to do, Laura headed for the door up a small set of steps in the far corner that Betty had indicated. The door stuck slightly, but shoving her shoulder into it was enough to un-jamb it.

This room was smaller and more bare than the one she'd had at home, though Laura had no complaints about this. There was a bed shoved into one corner, a window above it and a small bedside table next to it. On the other wall stood a desk and across from the bed was a decently sized wardrobe.

With a small _thunk_ , she dropped her bag onto the desk. She flopped down onto the bed. It was soft, and the room was tidy. This was to be home now, she supposed. Now that she was here, though, alone, she realized just how much she missed her dad.

Sighing, she stood back up. She could get settled later; Betty had seemed to be in a rush to return that book, so she was off to find the library.

-

The library, as it turned out, was much easier to find than Laura had expected. She followed Danny's (frankly vague) directions back onto the main road and to the stone archways of the massive castle. A guard eyed her suspiciously here (probably because she looked like a tourist, craning her neck to stare up at the castle in awe and turning on the spot to look all around) but, disregarding the nervous fluttering in her gut, she gave him a sunny smile, to which he rolled his eyes and went about ignoring her. She didn't ask for directions, instead heading into the large courtyard.

At the far end was a group of what were clearly knights. Laura looked on in interest, gaze scanning for familiar red hair. It didn't take long to find, given how tall Danny was, even among the other armoured figures. She looked furious; Laura could hear her voice echoing off the stone even from where she stood.

"Okay, he's an idiot, but you have no right to-"

Laura couldn't hear what the response was, but it certainly silenced Danny. It took a moment for the scene before her to sink in - Danny yelling at a smaller woman with dark hair and her back to Laura, who was casually flicking knives at a moving target that Laura realised was actually a young man holding up a wooden shield that hurried about at the dark haired woman's commands, to laughter from the others - but the second it did, Laura quickly moved to intervene.

She paused several paces behind the woman, anger coursing through her veins that somebody wearing what looked to be quite expensive armour thought it was okay to bully somebody like this (he didn't even have protective padding, much less armour of his own! Who did this person think she was, anyway?).

The woman raised her arm to toss another dagger and before Laura could tell her mouth not to, she shouted, "Hey, knock it off!"

Stopping mid-motion, the woman turned to her. Laura's heart jumped in her chest as she looked Laura up and down and quirked a brow.

"Do I know you?" The woman's voice was smooth and low. Laura straightened her spine.

"I'm Laura. And you are...?"

"So I don't know you," the woman said with a sneer. She turned back to her target, aimed and, with a languid ease that Laura had never seen before, threw another blade. It landed in the centre of the shield with a hollow sound, lodging into the wood and causing the man's shoulder to jolt with the impact. The shield slipped out of his grip and rolled, coming to rest at Laura's feet.

"Poor form, beefcake. Pick it up," the woman ordered in a bored tone. Laura placed her foot on the edge of the shield.

"Look, don't you think that's enough? Whatever point you're trying to make, I'm sure you've made it," Laura said.

"You think this is about making a point?" Now the woman sounded amused as she regarded Laura again. She stepped closer, leaving the knight she'd been about to take another knife from standing awkwardly off to the side. Laura realised she wasn't much shorter than her, probably only an inch or so if not for the armour making her seem much more imposing.

"Well if that's not what you're doing, why are you attacking some unarmed civilian?"

"Woah, okay, I think this is just a big misunderstanding," Danny interrupted, placing herself between them. "Laura's just trying to help. Kirsch is one of us, Laura. Why don't we all just walk away and forget about this?"

"Oh, I think she knows exactly what she's doing, don't you, cupcake?"

_Cupcake?_ "Yeah, I'm standing up to an entitled - bad person that thinks she can do whatever she wants just because she has a set of fancy armour and an attitude," Laura snapped back.

The woman actually had the audacity to _laugh_ at that. "'Think' I can do whatever I want? What, and you're going to stop me? Little miss tightly-wound? Come on, give it your best shot."

Laura knew she shouldn't do it. She'd never been one for physical violence. It wasn't even necessary, she knew magic, but still, she found herself throwing herself bodily at the woman. She didn't even flinch at the movement (though had Laura not been seeing red, she may have noticed her subtly move her hand to the hilt of the sword at her hip) and a moment later the air was being knocked out of Laura's lungs; Danny had thrown an arm out and caught her mid-leap.

Struggling in Danny's grasp, she yelled, "And who do you think you are, the Queen?"

"Carmilla. I'm the Queen's daughter, sweetheart," the dark haired woman smirked.

It felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her head. Laura went slack in Danny's arms and she was sure her jaw had dropped open. _Oh._ That explained a lot.

Shame and panic rushed through her in equal measure. She didn't know how this woman, the _princess_ , had managed to get under her skin so easily, but it was quite apparent what a mistake it had been to let that anger take over. She didn't have a chance to backpedal even if she'd wanted to, however. Carmilla had glanced something over Laura's shoulder, expression darkening, and was already motioning with a hand for her knights to leave.

"You're lucky your white knight here stepped in when she did. Next time, you might not be so lucky," Carmilla threatened as she brushed past Laura.

Laura hadn't noticed the clouds rolling in until she felt a drop of rain hit her forehead. She stepped back from Danny as the oak door of the castle slammed shut. It echoed in the courtyard and Laura realised she was shaking.

"Are you-?" Danny started to ask. Laura cut her off with a nod, getting her breathing under control.

"I'm fine. You should go catch up," Laura said, gesturing in the direction of the door the others had gone through. Danny hesitated a moment before going with a quiet "I'll see you later, Laura."

Laura stood alone in the courtyard for another moment before retrieving the book she was meant to return from where she'd dropped it earlier and heading inside to find the library.

-

The castle was warm and much more inviting on the inside than it had appeared from outside. Lit torches lined the corridors, comforting with the rain picking up and battering the high windows. The library was at the back corner of the ground floor, Laura learned from a maid.

When she finally arrived at the library, Laura was amazed by the sheer size of it. It looked to be several stories, some of the stacks tall enough to require ladders. She'd never seen so many books in her life, much less all in one place. One could get lost in here, she was sure.

At the front desk stood an (unsurprisingly) unfamiliar redhead, casually leaning on the table while they spoke to the rather cheerful looking young man sat behind it. They glanced up at Laura's approach.

"Hey," the redhead said at the same time the seated gentleman said, "Can I help you?"

"Uh, hi, I'm here to return this book for Betty Spielsdorf," Laura answered, holding up the book that, thankfully, had been saved from the rain. The redhead's face lit up.

"I can take care of that," the soft-spoken man behind the desk said.

"You're Laura, then?" the other asked as Laura handed the book to the librarian.

"Yes?" Laura was surprised anybody knew who she was. Should she be concerned?

"I'm LaFontaine, I take a few classes with Betty. She mentioned you were coming to live with her," the redhead, LaFontaine, explained at Laura's puzzled look. They held out a hand and Laura shook it; LaFontaine's smile widened as she did so.

"Everything seems to be in order, but please do inform Ms. Speilsdorf that if she keeps waiting until the last minute to return books I'm afraid she will be fined," the librarian said. Laura nodded dutifully and LaFontaine seemed amused. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"I've got this covered, Jeep. I think there's something in the restricted section Laura might be interested in," LaFontaine said, tilting their head to the left. Curious, Laura followed. "That's JP, by the way. He practically lives in this library. He takes his job pretty seriously."

LaFontaine led her around a corner to a dimly lit row of shelves. The glass cases were locked and dusty and Laura had the distinct impression that she shouldn't be there. This feeling was not helped by LaFontaine peering both ways before reaching into their pocket and pulling out a key.

They walked down the dark aisle quietly, Laura trailing behind slowly. They stopped about halfway down and unlocked a case that looked as if it hadn't been used in years, standing on their toes to reach a thick tome on the high shelf.

It hit shelf below it with an audible thud and a puff of dust as LaFontaine locked the cabinet they'd pulled it from. They picked it up again and hurriedly stashed the key back in their pocket (Laura thought they had probably taken it from JP while standing at the desk) before moving further into the lantern light at the end of their row.

Flipping through the book, they motioned Laura closer. She obeyed cautiously. What was written on the pages was a surprise, even still. LaFontaine watched her face closely as she examined it.

"Is this-?" Laura whispered and LaFontaine nodded excitedly.

It was a book of magic. Runes, specifically. And highly forbidden.

"How did you-? But I'm not-"

"Relax, frosh," LaFontaine murmured back. To her amazement, they closed the book, tucked it under their arm, and, with another near-paranoid glance around, held up their palm. In the center of it glowed a small ball of fire, casting warm, flickering light in the dark rows of bookshelves. They closed their hand and the tiny flame extinguished itself.

Laura looked at LaFontaine with wide eyes, heart pounding a mile a minute in her chest. They could do magic. And they just _showed her magic_ in the _castle_. She frantically waved her arms at them (to what end, didn't matter; they'd already put out the flame) but this only seemed to amuse them more.

"You can't just do that! That's- you're- it's dangerous! What if you were to get caught? Why are you even showing me this? I could go to the guards, or the _Queen_ because this is her _castle_ , or-" Laura wasn't sure "or" what, she just knew that this was not a good start to her new life.

"L, really, it's fine. Nobody saw and you're not going to turn me in. Right?"

Laura grimaced and shook her head. "How do you know you can trust me?"

"Because you're asking me that question," LaFontaine said simply. Laura's brow furrowed in confusion. They sighed. "Most people see magic, they think I'm the one that can't be trusted. You're not scared _of_ me, you're scared _for_ me. Besides, I saw that letter your dad wrote Betty. He didn't say it, of course, but I thought you might be like me. Then you shook my hand and, well, I wasn't wrong, was I?"

No, they weren't wrong, even if it was a huge gamble.

"What does shaking my hand have to do with anything?" Laura asked. They were still speaking in hushed tones and they both paused after she spoke to hear the footsteps echoing across the vast library.

When they were sure the footsteps weren't approaching them, LaFontaine answered, "If I concentrate I can sort of...sense magic. It has a certain feel to it and once you know what that is, it's easier to detect."

Laura again stared in amazement. She'd never met another sorcerer so she only knew what she'd heard and learned on her own. To see magic put into use (and explained) by someone else was both exhilarating and terrifying, given the location.

Before she could comment on how incredible such a talent was, LaFontaine handed her the book of magic they'd pulled off the shelf. They placed their hand on the cover and before Laura's eyes it changed into what appeared to be an ordinary cookbook.

"You have to be careful with that, okay? And make sure it's JP that checks it back in when you go to return it. Don't let anybody know what it really is, though, not even him," LaFontaine instructed. Laura nodded emphatically. She knew how valuable this could be, and how dangerous.

They grinned at her again, "Welcome to Silas, frosh."

-

Laura lingered in the castle for another hour or two, until the sky began to darken with twilight. She'd spent a while longer with LaFontaine and JP in the library and left them both there when she'd ventured out some time later. It was still raining, though, and even with the cloth bag she was now carrying the tome LaFontaine had given her in, she didn't want to ruin such an amazing resource. (She didn't particularly want to get rained on either.)

So she wandered. The castle was enormous and nobody seemed to care that she was walking around (with contraband, no less). She found the kitchens and the large dining hall, the staircase that led to the barracks, watched the stables from a second floor window for a bit.

The rain was finally beginning to let up when Laura attempted to find her way back outside. She hadn't meant to stumble upon the guest quarters, really. But once she was there, a cracked doorway revealed a mirror that caught her attention. She frowned, glanced both ways down the hallway, then pushed the door open just a bit more.

She popped her head into the room and looked around again. Empty. She pushed the doorway open the rest of the way and stepped carefully inside.

There was a stack of books beside the made bed, fresh flowers on the table. She was probably (definitely) trespassing, but the mirror seemed to be humming with energy. Laura wondered if this was what LaFontaine had been talking about or if she was simply imagining it. She just wanted to investigate. She'd leave as soon as she knew, one way or the other.

A glance at the books revealed them all to be large and well-worn, many pages dog-eared. She walked past them to the half-covered mirror. She didn't dare touch the curtain, instead peering around it.

She had no reflection. Or rather, the mirror showed nothing but an empty room that appeared quite like the one she stood in. Upon closer examination, the stack of books wasn't there within the mirror's image, either. The flowers were wilted. Looking behind her again revealed that this room did not match what was seen in the glass.

Intrigued, Laura reached out to touch the embroidered golden frame. The sound of footsteps stopped her, however, and she jumped, hurrying back out of the room just as an elderly woman turned the corner. They froze as they saw each other.

Eventually, after what felt like a short eternity but was likely only a matter of seconds, Laura broke the stalemate with a friendly smile and wave. The woman looked at her suspiciously, but returned the gesture as they passed each other, continuing to walk in opposite directions.

Laura looked back to watch the elderly woman enter the room she herself had just fled. The door closed behind her, but not before Laura saw the mirror once more, a girl in a white nightdress now standing inside it.

Laura exited the castle in a rush, pondering what she'd seen the entire way back to Betty's.

//

Carmilla groaned, stripping off the stifling, constricting plate armour the moment she was back in her chambers. Perry followed dutifully behind, catching a gauntlet as Carmilla tossed it over her shoulder. (She looked mildly surprised at this, herself.)

All things considered, the day hadn't been too horrible. She'd managed to avoid her mother all day after her early morning lecture, had only run into Will once at breakfast, and the knights were all relatively capable. The exception, of course, being Kirsch.

What had taken up much of her brain-space that day was directly related to his imbecility; he'd shown up late, completely unprepared, and hadn't even bothered to give a good excuse. She'd told him he could make himself useful, both as an example and a target (and perhaps even learn something), and had him pick up a heavy wooden shield. The tall redhead had objected, loudly, and Carmilla had easily brushed her off, completely ignored her.

Until that tiny honey brunette ball of rage showed up. Carmilla resisted the way her lips quirked up at the memory. When was the last time someone had spoken to her like that? She couldn't remember. Her thoughts had lingered on the girl for most of the day, after that.

"The guest of honor has arrived today after a short day's delay on the road. Your mother is dining with her this evening; you'll be relieved to know she does not expect you to attend," Perry said, breaking through Carmilla's musings. That was unusual, but Carmilla wasn't going to complain. "You will, of course, be required at the feast held for our guest in two days time, however."

"Wouldn't miss it," Carmilla said dryly.

Perry's lips pursed but she said nothing as she took the pieces of armour as they were handed to her. When Carmilla was finally free of the heavy metal and into more comfortable trousers (Perry averted her eyes as Carmilla stepped back into view from behind the wardrobe pulling a shirt on), she said, "You're free to go. Just leave the armour, I won't be wearing it tomorrow."

"Of course, my lady. Is there anything else I can do for you?" Perry asked formally. Carmilla resisted the urge to roll her eyes, shaking her head. Perry bowed and retreated from the room with a final "goodnight."

Forgoing dinner for the night, Carmilla crept through the castle quietly, smuggling a bottle of wine out of the kitchens and heading for the roof. The sky had finally cleared up enough to see the stars by the time she got there. The ground was wet but she didn't particularly care; it was free. The fresh air and distant sounds of civilization were a comfort.

She leaned against a low wall, drinking straight from the bottle, eyes to the stars. She felt small by comparison, wondered at the possibilities. There were stories of the constellations, of different worlds and legends and meanings unique to the observer. None of it and all of it mattered in that moment.

Perhaps she was just being sentimental, but there was a time she thought she'd never see that dark, infinite expanse again.

She could still hear Mattie objecting, just the once, to their mother's actions; could still see the look of hurt and betrayal on Ell's face. She wondered if there was a world in which things were different. In which she wasn't the daughter of a Queen, a kingdom's burdens and expectations on her shoulders. Where she wasn't meant to be the monster her mother was determined to make her; the monster Ell was convinced she was.

Again her mind drifted to the small, angry girl that had stood up to her earlier that day. She should probably be annoyed. She was above such contradictions. If her mother knew she'd let anybody speak to her like that without punishment, there'd be hell to pay. She'd seen the wide-eyed look Perry had given her over he girl's shoulder, understood what it meant.

_Laura_. Carmilla wondered idly what it would be like to live in a world where she could actually get to know this girl that felt free to speak her mind, even to Carmilla.

//

Next morning, Laura woke early. She yawned and stretched, ran a hand through her hair as she sat up. A thin beam of weak sunlight filtered through the cracked window over her bed. The rain had stopped, the sky cleared, late the previous night, and she had opened her window to it.

Betty was already up by the time Laura dressed, ran a brush through her hair and stepped out of her room. She ceased trying to be quiet and greeted Betty with a weak, "'Morning."

Betty returned the greeting groggily. She'd stayed up long after Laura had gone to bed. Apparently she wasn't quite so on top of her studies as the impression she'd given Laura's father would suggest. Despite this, she'd made enough food for the both of them and invited Laura to eat with her.

Breakfast was a mostly silent affair, both trying to wake up. They made plans for Betty to show Laura around and introduce her to a few people. Laura cleaned up while Betty got ready for the day and the two set off together into what was promising to be a much warmer, sunnier day.

-

Silas village was mostly residential, and they found themselves spending much of the day up at the castle. They ran into Danny relatively early on (who praised Laura for the "ballsy move" of standing up to the princess after she herself had been put in her place by the obnoxious woman) and spent a couple hours with her seeing the sights before her knightly duties parted them.

Having already met LaFontaine, they only briefly visited the library. As it turned out, LaFontaine spent quite a lot of time there. This evidently did not sit well with Lola Perry, a maid to the royal family that LaFontaine introduced Laura to quickly before she had to hurry off again.

"We've been best friends since we were little kids. She, uh, doesn't really approve of my...studies," LaFontaine explained in a low voice while Betty talked to JP across the room. Laura put a comforting hand on their shoulder and they gave her a tight but appreciative smile in return.

Betty walked over before Laura could say anything else, and they left to continue their tour of Silas. It wasn't until they decided to split up - Betty to stay and talk to SJ while Laura went to look through a shop they'd passed along the way before it closed - that anything too eventful happened. Laura was crossing the street and bumped shoulders with somebody. She turned to apologise but the words died in her throat when she saw who it was.

"Well, if it isn't the littlest creampuff that could," that familiar irritating, smug voice said. Laura's blood instantly began to boil.

She attempted to shove the rage aside and say sorry for walking into her, but what came out instead was, "What's your problem? Are you really so arrogant that you think you can just walk all over everybody and everyone's just going to _let_ you?"

_Please stop talking, Laura._

"Are you still bent out of shape about that meathead yesterday? Why do you even care so much?" Carmilla asked, a note of what Laura thought might actually be genuine curiosity in her voice. "You don't even know him."

"Because he is a person! A real, actual person with feelings and he deserves better. I would deserve better. Hell, even you deserve better."

Silence. Something flickered across Carmilla's face but it was gone before Laura could identify it.

"And you really think just because you believe hard enough and stay pure of heart that yelling at me is going to change anything? Take a look around, sweetheart. This is the way the world works and the sooner you stop playing the hero, the better off you'll be," Carmilla said, standing far too close then turning suddenly on her heel and walking away.

Grinding her teeth, Laura called to Carmilla's back, "At least I'm trying to do something!"

Carmilla made a rude hand gesture without turning around. Laura let out a noise of frustration that had the handful of people that had stopped to watch the exchange (Laura hadn't even noticed them until this moment and turned even redder) scurrying for cover. These brief meetings with the princess were going to be the death of her.

-

The next day Laura met Danny outside the barracks for lunch. LaFontaine and Betty were in class and likely to be out late, studying in the library. When Laura told Danny this, Danny said, "You know, there's this thing in the castle tonight, a feast for some famous musician visiting Silas. All the knights are supposed to be there; I was going to go alone, but you're welcome to come with me, if you want?"

"Sure, I'd love to go with you!"

"Great! I'll pick you up, say, six?" Danny beamed.

And that was how Laura found herself in the packed dining hall of the castle in a dress that Betty had taken the time to help her pick out when she'd returned home shortly to pick up a book and found Laura's entire (limited) wardrobe tossed about her room and Laura standing there looking harried. It was a sleeveless deep, smooth blue with a low - but not too low - neckline and a slit up one side that came to just below mid-thigh, and had Danny reduced to a breathless "wow" upon seeing her, followed by a clearing of her throat and "you look amazing, Hollis."

This also marked the first occasion Laura had ever seen the Queen, and she was every bit as intimidating as Laura had expected. Her hair was up in a tight bun under the perfectly evenly situated crown and she held a stiff poise that radiated power and control. Laura shivered and attempted to make sure she was not noticed.

Carmilla was sat to the right of the Queen, looking surly, and a dark haired young man that looked very much like her sat on the Queen's other side. Flanking them behind the head table was the honour guard. Danny was not among them, instead standing against one wall as they awaited the arrival of the guest of honour. Laura was really quite hungry, so she hoped they showed up soon.

No sooner had she thought this than a smattering of applause spread across the several long tables. The Queen stood and announced their guest, but Laura didn't hear a word. Her eyes had landed on the old woman with the magic mirror in her room that Laura had accidentally seen on her first night in Silas. _She_ was the guest singer. She looked younger, somehow, and there was something unsettling about her. Laura only hesitantly joined in the applause when she realised she was staring.

The old woman that seemed no more than middle aged now (perhaps it wasn't the same woman? Maybe Laura had run into the singer's mother or relative; surely it couldn't be the same person, even with the very strong resemblance) thanked them and the room slowly quieted.

All attention turned to her as she began to sing. Her voice was beautiful and powerful, something haunting in the old Latin song. With the first few notes came a stillness and as the song went on, the room grew progressively colder, torches and candles fading out. Something was wrong.

Everyone around her was beginning to droop in their seats, those standing now slumping against the walls or sinking to their knees. They were falling asleep and Laura was starting to feel the effects, the icy chill sinking into her very bones. She clapped her hands over her ears. The singer didn't notice, seemingly intent on the head table she was now approaching.

Laura looked around; nobody now was left conscious, nobody capable of resisting such powerful magic, and Laura's fingers were starting to go numb. Her blood ran cold at the realisation that she was the only one unaffected and she was quickly succumbing herself.

The song never faltered as the witch raised her arms in an incantation Laura only vaguely recognised until the moment just before the magic went off. She frantically cast about the room for something, anything- her gaze landed on a nearby chair first and it sailed across the floor towards the sorceress, causing her to stumble. The flames she'd been aiming at the royal family instead exploded against the wall behind them, scorching the stone and sending bits of rock flying in all directions.

Laura leapt over the table at the same time but the witch had seen the movement a moment too soon, threw out a hand as if to slap her and Laura felt as she had when Danny's arm had caught her around the middle. She crashed back into the table, falling to the ground with a groan. The song continued as the mage turned her attention back to what Laura realised wasn't the royal family, but Carmilla specifically.

_No!_ She clambered to her feet, a large silver platter aimed at the witch now, this time hitting her solidly in the back of the head. She staggered forward and Laura spotted the chandelier she'd inadvertently put her opponent beneath, focused on the chain holding it, which snapped and came crashing down. The witch turned only just too late to dodge it. The chandelier caught her on the way down, trapping her under two branches but leaving her relatively uninjured.

Unable to sustain the magic any longer, the song finally ceased and the room instantly began to warm again. All around people began to awaken. Laura looked nervously to the head table to see the Queen and Carmilla both jump to their feet. Using the last of her strength, the witch took this as an opportunity to pull a concealed knife.

Time seemed to slow as Laura's breath caught, the blade catching the returned light and her attention along with it. She did the only thing she could think to, stumbling over another table to pull Carmilla bodily out of the way. Time sped back up as the knife flew by them, a hairsbreadth away from Laura's shoulder where Carmilla's heart had been mere seconds ago to pierce the thick back of the chair, splintering the wood.

The pair of them crashed to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Laura was breathing heavily as she rolled off the princess. She allowed herself a moment to lay there on her back and stare up at the ceiling before forcing her trembling legs to hold her once more.

She numbly registered that her arm was bleeding but that her dress was just fine (that was oddly relieving), though covered in dust and debris. Carmilla was already on her feet and the Queen was watching them sharply. Everyone else was watching them, too.

"Arrest her," the Queen ordered at once.

"No! No, this is on you! You killed my son! This is your fault! A life for a life!" The witch shouted as several knights lifted the chandelier with effort and pulled her up by the arms, dragging her from the room, screaming the entire way.

"You saved my daughter's life," the Queen stated, turning to Laura. And it was a simple statement, devoid of emotion and unfazed by both the night's events and the witch's ranting that still echoed along the corridors back to them.

"I, uh. Yes?" Laura said breathlessly. Her side ached, too.

"That debt must be repaid."

"Oh, well, um-" Laura objected weakly.

"Don't be modest, dear. You shall be rewarded position in the royal household: you shall be the princess's personal servant," the Queen said in a tone that brooked no dissent.

The crowd applauded once more as Carmilla choked out a "What?" and Laura's jaw dropped open. She didn't have any indignant exclamations or impassioned arguments in her after her first real fight with magic, and she was honestly still shaken by it. She exchanged an incredulous look with Carmilla.

Well. At least she'd found employment.

//

Carmilla watched people flood into the great dining hall disinterestedly. A handful of pretty women had caught her eye but she made no move to speak to them, staying firmly planted in her chair beside her mother. Normally she'd take great pleasure in irritating her mother by showing up late then leaving early with one of them, but she knew better than to disobey such strict orders when her mother was as tense as she seemed to be tonight.

Her attention was again caught by the ginger giant walking in with a woman that barely came up to her shoulders that Carmilla recognised with some surprise as the girl she kept running into and subsequently arguing with. Carmilla had to hand it to her, she cleaned up well. (Though she doubted the dress belonged to her, Carmilla had to admit it did fit beautifully.)

Averting her gaze, Carmilla leaned back in her chair and waited. It wasn't long before the Lady bard arrived and commanded the room's focus. What followed was a shock.

Carmilla vaguely registered the sensation of icy hands wrapping around her throat, seeping into her heart, eyelids growing heavy. She remembered dark, cold suffocation and her heart beat wildly in her chest but she could do nothing; her limbs would not respond and she was rapidly losing consciousness.

Next thing she was aware of, she was jerking upright in her seat while the rest of the room slowly raised their heads from tables or their neighbour's shoulder, the guards all on the ground. Her mother was on her feet in an instant and Carmilla shakily followed. Laura stood in the middle of the room, holding herself up against a table. Before her was the supposed guest of honour, trapped under a fallen chandelier.

Every nerve on edge, Carmilla caught the motion of the bard reaching for a knife. Her muscles tensed in anticipation but before she could react, a tiny body was slamming into hers, sending them both toppling as the blade whizzed by them and smashed into the chair Carmilla had been in front of.

It all happened so fast that Carmilla was too stunned to even comment about how she'd had many breathless women on top of her and that this was _not_ the most fun she'd had when Laura landed on her. She did however _help_ by shoving her off and getting back to her feet as quickly as she could. Laura seemed dazed, as well, remaining where she'd flopped to the floor, arms spread, while the Queen surveyed them and the wreckage of the room. What the hell had happened?

Her mother called for the arrest of the bard, who wailed accusations the entire way to out (and probably to the dungeons where she would likely not be waiting long for execution). Carmilla didn't doubt she was telling the truth.

Addressing the apparent saviour now, the Queen spoke to Laura. The cupcake was flustered, waving her hands and trying to talk her mother down. Clearly she'd never seen her mother before; it did not work.

"You shall be the princess's personal servant."

_Wait, what?_

Carmilla realises she may have blurted the words aloud, for her mother gave her a sharp look before disappearing into the cheering crowd. She looked to Laura, who appeared just as taken aback by this decree as her. Whatever her mother was playing at, Carmilla doubted her stubborn, naive new servant would just go along with it.

This was not what she meant when she'd idly wondered about getting to know the girl.

//

Betty was ecstatic when Laura regaled her with the tale later that night. She and probably half the kingdom had heard what had happened already and she'd been excited to get the whole story from her. Laura was happy enough to tell it, though she carefully left out any magic and claimed that it was mostly luck.

She wrote her father a lengthy letter when Betty finally released her, telling him of her...eventful first few days, giving as much detail as was safe through post. She was sure he'd understand, though she hoped he wouldn't worry too much. She'd downplayed the danger as much as she could and prayed he wouldn't hear of it from passing soldiers or other news sources. She thought she could grow to like it here.

Danny had flitted about, both worried and impressed, but hadn't been able to walk her home due to all knights being on duty to deal with such a massive security breach. There was to be an ongoing investigation, and Laura was looking forward to helping out after a bit of rest.

Perry had welcomed her to the crew and LaFontaine had slapped her genially on the back and congratulated her on being a hero. She'd brushed that off but thanked them both all the same.

Laura went to bed that night sure her life would never be the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This is the first fic I've written in years so please, please let me know what you think.
> 
> You can also find me on [tumblr](http://kvrnsteins.tumblr.com) if you'd like to chat.


	2. This is why we fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for such a kind response, guys/gals/variations thereupon - here's to hoping I don't disappoint!

The first week was rough, to say the least. Laura had grown up an only child; she was accustomed to her own space and time, to sleeping in past sunrise (who demanded someone get up at four in the morning? Oh right, spoiled princesses), was used to getting a solid meal in before doing any work, and the work she'd done was nothing like what she was expected to do for Carmilla. How was it fair that she saved the girl's life and was now her _servant_?

And then of course Carmilla was _obnoxious_. She was arrogant, lazy, a complete slob (what did she even do before she had Laura to clean up after her?), slept until mid-afternoon (which was perhaps not surprising, given that she spent her nights with various girls and Laura, who had an unfortunate front seat to the whole proceeding, had yet to see the same girl leave the princess's chambers twice), and Laura was convinced half the things she was ordered to do were simply Carmilla trying to irk her. (It was working.)

The first day, she got up at a reasonable hour, washed, ate, and headed up to the castle. Upon arrival, Perry found her near instantaneously. Laura jumped when the redhead popped out of a staircase to her right with an exclamation of her name.

"Oh good, I was hoping to run into you. Here is a list of your duties, a note from LaFontaine," the name fell oddly from Perry's lips, not quite disapproving but something close that Laura didn't understand, "and a snack. From me. I thought you could use a treat on your first day. Her Highness can be...rather demanding."

Trying not to let her momentary panic show, Laura accepted the scroll, folded piece of parchment and wrapped brownie. Perry nodded, asked if she needed anything else, then bustled off to continue her own duties for the morning. How she was so full of energy at this hour was beyond even Laura, who was still sore and a bit tired from her fight the night before.

Unrolling the list of her new responsibilities, Laura's brows went from near her hairline to furrowed together quickly. She stuffed the scroll into a pocket and pulled open LaFontaine's note next. It read simply enough, wishing her luck on her first day, congratulating her again, and asking to meet in the library when she was free that evening. Laura had the feeling it was less a social call and more about what had happened the previous night.

Carmilla was as insufferable throughout the day as Laura had expected. She hadn't really known how Carmilla would react to their situation but she seemed to take it in stride about as well as Laura had. Or, at least, she wasn't particularly annoyed by Laura's presence beyond her typical irritation at the general population. Laura hoped they could get off to a better start now than they had every time they'd met previously.

Laura knocked on her door mid-morning with breakfast and got nothing more than a groan in response. Taking this as invitation enough, she pushed the door open and entered the princess's chambers for the first time; it was like stepping into a disaster zone, as if a storm had torn through the room. Clothes were tossed everywhere, used glasses left on multiple surfaces, a half eaten sandwich on the table by the door.

In the adjacent room Carmilla herself was tangled up in the sheets on a four-poster bed that wasn't quite as opulent as Laura had imagined. Not that she'd spent a lot of time picturing her employer's bedroom (this wouldn't have been it if she had, though somehow this wasn't much of a surprise, either) but it seemed the princess was a bit more practical than the impression royalty often gave.

"Breakfast," Laura announced simply, loudly and cheerfully enough to draw another groan from Carmilla.

Carmilla rolled over, holding a hand up to her face to try to block out the light from the window on the other side of her bed. The curtains were drawn but for a small gap in which the bright sun streamed through right into her eyes. She glared at Laura uncomprehendingly, as if wondering why she was there, for a full minute.

Shifting uncomfortably under her gaze, Laura looked away at the mess that she would have to clean up. She eyed the goblet nearest suspiciously, not sure if it was very old wine or blood congealed in the bottom. The prospect of sorting this all out was not a pleasant one.

Out of the corner of her vision she saw Carmilla sit up, back to her, the sheets pooling around her bare waist as she ran a hand through her hair. Laura wondered if she was meant to help her dress but the princess was already moving to the wardrobe across from the foot of her bed and so Laura hurriedly went about picking scattered clothing up and attempting to mind her own business.

When Carmilla was dressed she shuffled tiredly over to the tray of food Laura had brought in. She didn't so much as mumble a "thank you" as she grabbed an apple slice, slumped down into a chair at the table, and began to read. It was as if Laura wasn't even there. That was fine, Laura supposed, pretending she didn't feel the annoyance bubbling up already; at least they weren't at each other's throats.

After eating - Laura cleaned up around Carmilla as she ate, making the bed and pulling the curtains open all the way to Carmilla's grunted protests - Carmilla informed Laura that they'd be training knights today. Laura clumsily tried to help her into armour (different, Laura noted, from the set she'd worn the first time they'd met; Carmilla explained her preference toward leathers or a coat of plates and the plate armour she typically wore that Laura had met her in, and the hauberk she was wearing today before she waved Laura off) and hefted a large bag of equipment onto her shoulder.

Much of the day passed in the same manner as the morning had. Laura stood behind Carmilla in the courtyard while she ran the knights through drills and watched them spar. Laura watched with some trepidation, trying not to think of how these were the people that would be coming for her if ever the knowledge of her magic got out.

Occasionally Carmilla would request a mace or battleaxe from the bag she'd had Laura drag down (no wonder it was so heavy; surely there was an armory that could serve just as well), and that was the extent of the attention she paid Laura. It was to be expected, Laura supposed, as the princess's servant. She thought she'd rather remain undetected, anyway, so the cold dismissal really shouldn't bother her.

Skipping lunch entirely, Carmilla didn't release the knights for the evening until shortly after the sun set completely behind the distant hills, obscured by the castle walls. She had Laura return the weapons bag to her quarters and draw her a bath before she too was let go. Laura noticed she hadn't eaten since breakfast but made no mention of it, bowing out of the room quickly before she could change her mind and heading to the library.

Unsurprisingly, LaFontaine was already there. They motioned for her to follow them up the staircase by the double doors Laura had just walked through, and around the balcony that overlooked the ground floor to the mostly shadowed far corner. They leaned against the stone wall beside a tall window with their arms crossed across their chest.

Elbows on the wooden balcony railing, facing the entrance and JP's back, Laura asked why LaFontaine had specifically requested she drop by.

"It's about last night," LaFontaine answered predictably. "I just thought you'd want to know that they've scheduled the sorceress's execution for two days from now."

Laura looked up at them in shock. "Two days? Isn't that a bit soon? I thought they wanted to investigate how it happened!"

"She had magic. That alone is enough to warrant execution, but then she committed treason," LaFontaine shrugged. "It looks like she was working alone, so they're just going to wrap it up nice and neat with her death. How won't matter."

Something about that answer didn't sit right with Laura. Shouldn't the hows and whys matter? It also didn't answer why she'd seemed so much younger, or how it had gone so far without anybody suspecting, or... _the mirror_.

"Listen, LaFontaine, there's something I want to check out. Do you mind coming with me and being a lookout?" Laura asked.

They quirked their brow but said, "Sure. What're we doing?"

Not quite sure how to explain (and finding that she inexplicably didn't _want_ to), Laura answered, "I think I ran into her, after I left here that first night. She looked like an old woman then, though, and I thought...well, she had something in her room that I want to look at."

They left the library together and made their way to the guest quarters quietly. As it turned out, LaFontaine needn't keep watch for anything; the halls were deserted and the room Laura had seen the elderly woman and the mirror in was empty. Disappointed, with no way of finding where it would have been moved to, Laura bid LaFontaine a good night and headed home.

-

The second day found Laura awakened by a walking suit of armour knocking on the front door before sunrise. Betty answered it before Laura could even get up and had given her an impressive glare when she told her that it was for her. Carmilla was asking for her up at the castle.

Laura was so tired, she didn't even have time to be concerned about the soldier on her doorstep.

-

On the third day, she ran into Kirsch between chores for Carmilla (whose room somehow managed to be a complete and utter mess every time Laura set foot inside).

"Hey, I never got to thank you for saving me last week, so, uh, thanks! And I heard what you did the other day up at the castle, too. You're like, a regular hero, bro," he said, clapping her on the shoulder much the same way LaFontaine had. He was significantly larger, however, and she staggered forward with a small squeak.

Apparently she was an "honorary bro-knight" now. She wasn't sure how to feel about that.

-

That afternoon was the public execution of the sorceress that had made an attempt on the princess's life. Laura attended, standing, as usual, just behind Carmilla. The princess herself was stood stony-faced slightly behind and to the right of her mother as the Queen sentenced the witch before the gathered crowd.

"Let this be an example to any that would strike out against my rule or the kingdom of Silas. Such acts will not be tolerated. _Magic_ will not be tolerated."

Laura looked away as the executioner's axe came down.

-

The rest of the week was relatively uneventful as Laura settled into her new role. She spent time in between tasks with LaFontaine and Perry, had lunch most days with Danny (Carmilla rarely ate, it seemed, but Laura somehow kept finding leftover food in her room; she must have been sneaking down to the kitchens, despite the staff never having seen her), got along well with Betty at home and sometimes sat with her, LaF and JP in the library as they studied. In her free time (resulting in her staying up late most nights) she read the book LaFontaine had picked out for her and was constantly amazed by how diverse magic truly was.

Her relationship with Carmilla didn't change much. Carmilla usually pretended she wasn't there, when she wasn't intentionally getting under Laura's skin. Laura just did her best to not lose her temper.

Overall, Laura couldn't really complain. She wrote her father again at the end of the week, sent him a bit of extra coin (she was compensated substantially more than she had expected and only felt it right to send part of her wages back home), and was content enough to fall into a routine relatively easily.

She pushed the thought of the unusual mirror that she was convinced was magic to the back of her mind, where it lingered still.

//

Carmilla was constantly aware of Laura Hollis's presence. And the girl was _always_ there.

After the disastrous feast the ginger giant had hovered around Laura until Carmilla ordered the knights to get off their asses and secure the castle and search the bard's rooms. Laura had slipped out of the dining hall then, having already been questioned, and Carmilla half expected it to be the last time she'd ever see her.

She was wrong.

Laura showed up early the next morning with breakfast. Carmilla, having only just gone to bed a couple hours previously after finding absolutely nothing of worth on the sorceress, had done what she did best: glared. Really, did she have to be so chipper?

She looked away after a while and Carmilla resigned herself to starting her day (with her new servant. Apparently). She got up, dressed, grabbed a book off the floor by her bed, and slid into a seat to eat in silence. She was relieved when the girl didn't try to talk her ear off the entire time. Her reward was to carry a perhaps less than necessary bag of weaponry that Carmilla had been meaning to return to the barracks down for the day's training session with the knight recruits.

The entire time, she stood there behind Carmilla, fidgeting. Carmilla ignored her as best she could, only addressing her for weapons. At the end of the day she had Laura haul the bag back up to her room and found some small amusement in watching her struggle. She resolutely kept her mouth shut, though, and Carmilla let her go.

She had the same nightmare that night that she always did. The one with the dark hallway, the close press of dirt, her own screams echoing back into her ears, the slam of heavy wood sealing her alone in the darkness.

Jerking awake in a cold sweat, she stared up at the dark ceiling and forced her breathing to return to normal. The sky was still dark, the only light in the room the single lit candle by the mirror on the dresser across from her bed. She could still feel the icy chill in her blood.

Untwisting her fingers from the sheets she'd unknowingly been gripping so tightly her knuckles stood out starkly pale against the crimson fabric, she sat up. She was mildly irritated to note she was still shaking. Watching the candle flicker, she waited for the remnants of the dream to let her go and idly wondered how long this could go on for.

Finally satisfied she wasn't a complete mess after a few quiet minutes, she dressed in a somewhat loose shirt that she tucked into her trousers, a regular pair of boots, and then threw her hair into a messy bun. She pulled on her favourite plain leather coat and had a soldier call for Laura.

Her eyes burned; she rubbed them with the palms of her hands. It didn't help. She didn't particularly care what she looked like but she hoped she was at least presentable enough that Laura wouldn't ask questions. She seemed the inquisitive type.

It was another twenty minutes before Laura all but sprinted into the entrance hall where Carmilla was waiting.

"You look like hell. Did you run the entire way here?" Carmilla said. She got the desired reaction, Laura immediately flushing angrily.

"You called me down here at four in the morning, Carmilla! Excuse me for not looking like some put-together princess," she snapped. Rather than regretting these words, she went on, "What do you want, anyway? I thought even you would be asleep by now."

"Who says I'm not just having an early morning?" Carmilla shrugged.

Laura followed as Carmilla started to walk back out the way Laura had just come in. It occurred to Carmilla that she didn't actually know where her servant lived. She'd have to ask if she'd like quarters in the castle when she wasn't angry enough to quit on the spot if she thought Carmilla was insulting her. Which, frankly, seemed likely to happen with them both apparently sleep deprived and irritable.

"I don't know that it's really 'early' when it can still be considered _late_..." Laura grumbled. She was clutching what was presumably the stitch in her side from dashing to the castle.

"Ready two horses," Carmilla said, ignoring her comment.

"Two?" she asked. Carmilla arched a single brow and after a moment Laura seemed to understand. "Oh."

An hour later, they were overlooking the castle from the surrounding hills, the sky lightening slowly, the sun not quite peeking over the horizon just yet but already bringing a bit of warmth. Or perhaps Carmilla was imagining it. She'd neglected a cloak and Laura was downright shivering in the saddle of the docile palomino beside her.

She seemed smaller, somehow, in that well-worn tunic, the scarf she usually wore around her neck now attempting to retain feeling in her nose. She'd given up trying to warm her hands when she'd nearly slipped off the back of her horse. Evidently she wasn't the most proficient at horseback riding - a fact that entertained Carmilla greatly at the rocky outset of their little journey.

"It's beautiful," Laura said.

Carmilla blinked and realised she was talking about the pink and gold hues now tinging the clouds. She hummed in agreement.

The crisp air and near-silence was peaceful, rather than oppressive. Carmilla smoothly dismounted her horse, patting its neck and offering one of the apples out of the saddlebag. Laura looked over to her and seemed rather worried for a moment before attempting to slide off her own horse. It was less than graceful but she landed on her feet.

She beamed at Carmilla, who chuckled and shook her head.

Loosening the reins and grabbing a couple more apples from the pack, Carmilla let the horses graze. She dropped down onto the grass by the line of trees without much of a care. Laura sat beside her and Carmilla tossed an apple her way. She caught it, barely, and mumbled a thanks.

Laying here felt so different than back in the castle had just an hour and a half ago. She felt like she could breathe here. She wasn't even bothered by Laura (or her loudly crunching on the fruit) next to her.

The sky turned lighter and lighter shades of blue, the clouds painting fluffy white breaks in it from time to time and cast the occasional shadow over the hills and town below. The muffled sounds of the horses' hooves was all too soon joined by the far-off noise of civilisation waking up. They'd need to head back before long.

With a sigh Carmilla sat up. Laura was leaning back on her palms taking in the scenery and turned to Carmilla when she heard the motion. She sprung up to her feet and offered Carmilla a hand up. Carmilla rolled her eyes and stood (Laura pouted as she dropped her hand back to her side), brushing what loose dirt and grass she could off her backside.

They walked the short distance to the horses and set back off for the stone and bustle of Silas. On the way Carmilla asked where Laura lived.

"Why?" she replied suspiciously, perhaps assuming she already knew, given that the soldier had found her so quickly.

Rolling her eyes again (this was getting to be a habit), she said, "If you want to move into the castle, there's a place for you there. It'd probably be a shorter trip."

"Oh. No, thanks." A long minute of silence followed this and Carmilla thought that was to be the end of the discussion, then Laura said, "I have a roommate. Her name is Betty. We live a couple blocks from the castle."

Carmilla nodded. That settled that, then.

-

The next day Carmilla stood rigidly behind her mother at another public execution. The faces of the crowd before her showed a variety of emotion, ranging from outrage (nobody was brave or stupid enough to speak out, whether their anger was directed at her and the Queen or the sorceress herself) to fear and disgust. Laura was ashen behind her and hadn't spoken a word since breakfast. Carmilla couldn't bring herself to feel anything.

Her grip on the handle of her blade - the old arming sword Perry had returned to her last week - tightened to the point where the creak of her leather gloves was just audible.

She left as soon as it was done, the crowd still dispersing. She told Laura to take off early and disappeared to her own rooms to drop the cape, gloves and constricting shoes she replaced with her worn leather boots before heading to the tavern.

She only had two drinks, but it was enough. In the hope of forgetting herself and her responsibilities for a while, she left some time later with a blonde - Elsa? Elsie? Elise? Something like that - and found herself once again in her rooms at the castle. A few hours, a couple orgasms, and an invitation to call on her again sometime later, Carmilla managed to drift off to a fitful sleep. She woke to cold sheets and Laura knocking on the door.

-

A week passed like this before her luck finally caught up with her. Or rather, her mother's ire did. She'd just returned from a particularly miserable training session with the knights, accompanied by a driving rain, in which Kirsch had nearly impaled himself, Danny had nearly killed him for losing his footing and taking them both down into the mud, and nothing had been accomplished beyond aggravating Carmilla and ruining the meathead's day. Laura trailed behind her, both of them leaving a wet path in their wake.

"Carmilla. A word," the Queen's cold, commanding voice said from the other end of the hallway.

Carmilla stiffened, hand on the doorknob to her room. She let it go, handed Laura her sword and cloak with a mumbled order to go in, and approached her mother. They waited until the door to her quarters clicked shut.

"I did not bring you back to have you behaving this way, Mircalla," she started. Carmilla's jaw was already set but she listened and said nothing. "You will start acting as one befitting the throne or actions will be taken to rectify the situation. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Maman, perfectly," Carmilla replied dutifully.

"Good. Now get cleaned up; I expect you to dine with William and I this evening," her mother said, tone somewhat gentler.

"Of course, Mother."

The sound of her mother's heels clicking against the flagstone faded and Carmilla turned back to her room. Laura jumped and looked away when she entered and Carmilla immediately knew she'd heard the brief exchange. She expected a snarky remark about how she deserved to be raked over the coals for her attitude (and nightly habits), but instead Laura held out a warm towel with a sympathetic smile.

Carmilla's brow furrowed as she accepted the towel.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Laura offered.

"No."

"I'm the only child of a massively overprotective dad. I get not living up to expectations," she continued.

When Carmilla did nothing to discourage her, even going so far as to give her a small, appreciative smile in return, Laura jumped right into a long story about her father. Carmilla dried off and changed into more formal clothing for dinner to the sound of Laura's voice. The tension in her taut muscles eased slowly, and by the time she finished her story, Carmilla was thankful for the little ray of sunshine's presence in her life for the first time.

-

Laura was in Carmilla's room when she returned from dinner. The general level of filth had gone down substantially, and she noticed her armour and sword were polished, the large bag of weapons that had been sitting on a chair for the past week nowhere in sight. Laura herself had just finished changing the sheets and lighting the candles by the bed she somehow knew Carmilla liked to read by.

"Here," Carmilla said, holding out a small stack of cookies wrapped in a napkin.

"What's this for?" Laura asked, taking them almost cautiously.

Carmilla shrugged, "I've seen you eating with the ginger giant. You have a bit of a sweet-tooth, cupcake."

"But why-?" she began, looking as if she was going to protest Carmilla's rare kindness, then changed her mind. "Thanks, Carmilla."

"Don't mention it. Now get out, it's been a long day and I plan to actually sleep tonight."

//

"I mean, she has to be doing it on purpose, right?" Laura was saying.

"She is pretty intense," Danny agreed in a placating tone.

She was used to Laura ranting about Carmilla by now, they'd made something of a habit of it, and smoothly changed topics. Laura's mind remained on the topic of the princess, however, who had left Silas the day before. Laura didn't know where she was, just that she'd gone alone with a senior knight and Laura was trying not to be jealous that she wasn't trusted enough to go, because that would be ridiculous. It wasn't until Danny asked a question that she realised she wasn't paying attention.

"What? Oh, yeah, totally," Laura replied, making a valiant effort to seem like she was listening.

She felt a bit bad about complaining then ignoring Danny when she'd been the one to offer to pay for their usual lunch date for the day. (Were they dates? Maybe not date-dates. Not that she wouldn't want them to be date-dates. She liked Danny. She thought maybe Danny liked her, too. Oh god, she was talking again and Laura _still_ wasn't paying attention.)

"Are you okay? You seem a bit out of it," Danny said.

"Yeah. Just...didn't sleep much last night," Laura said. She was really getting into the swing of lying without actually lying.

She had stayed hidden off in a corner of the library well after curfew with LaFontaine, discussing where she should take her magical studies. She'd made great progress into the first book they'd given her and with some time off while Carmilla was out of town, Laura was looking to expand her knowledge. LaFontaine was focusing on more biological magic, related more to healing and understanding the organic side of it than saving the life of royalty (Laura had glowered at the implications of that) and in the end Laura decided to continue studying the book of general magic. (A part of her still hoped she'd find something related to magic mirrors.)

Kirsch saved Laura from further questioning by dropping into the seat next to her and Danny with a plate of food and a cheerful, "Hey, little...Laura, Ser Psycho."

Danny glared but Laura responded with an equally sunny, "Hi, Kirsch."

"So where's the scary angry boss-lady?" he asked.

"She didn't tell me," Laura said. He frowned, like it was inconceivable that the princess didn't tell her servant everything.

"That knight she went with said 'orders came directly from the Queen.' She seemed pretty smug about it," Danny said.

A crease marred her brow and Laura wasn't sure if it was due to the knight (Laura thought they were friends and that things were rocky between the two of them at the moment, but Laura was sure they'd work it out eventually) or if it was because she felt the same squirm of discomfort in her stomach that Laura was experiencing.

"So like a secret mission that only they could handle? You think it's a matter of, like, national security?" Kirsch said excitedly. "You think we'll be doing stuff like that someday?"

"Don't be stupid, Wilson," Danny snorted and Kirsch objected to the use of his given name but Laura's attention in the conversation was already waning again, diverted to what she'd overheard between Carmilla and the Queen in the hallway nearly a week ago and what Carmilla could possibly be doing on such short notice that required such secrecy.

-

"I don't know, Laura, and you really shouldn't be going around questioning it," Perry said when Laura tried (and failed) to bring it up subtly.

"Yeah, L, I'm sure it's fine," LaFontaine added quickly.

Perry shot them a glare and they seemed to wilt a bit. They'd been acting cagey and Laura wondered if they knew something or if it was simply because they didn't like the idea of her drawing attention to herself by asking about it. Shrugging, she dropped the subject and got up to look for a tome referenced in the book she was currently reading. Not for the first time, she looked to the far aisle her magic book had come from as she walked by and wondered why there were books on magic in the castle library - and why they were so easy to access.

-

Laura's mild concern was proven to be misplaced when, three days later, Carmilla returned exhausted and, frankly, grumpy.

"Where have you been?" Laura asked before her brain-to-mouth filter could tell her to refrain. "I mean, you just left and I just thought-"

"Don't think I owe you anything, buttercup," Carmilla deflected coldly.

_Ouch._ Okay, maybe wait for her to settle back in before ambushing her.

Having met Carmilla by the front gates, Laura returned her horse to the stables before rushing off to her quarters to draw a bath and and lay out fresh clothing and a towel. Carmilla followed her nearly ten minutes later, seeming even darker than she had upon arrival. Assuming she'd been reporting to the Queen, Laura made no mention of it when she took Carmilla's traveling cloak and helped her out of her armour.

There was a stiff silence between them. Laura wasn't sure what to do with it. They'd been getting along better leading up to Carmilla's days-long disappearance, talking (well, mostly Laura talked and Carmilla made sarcastic comments and flirted; the latter tended to soar gloriously over Laura's head, only for her to realise hours later and turn beet red) and spending much of their days together.

Carmilla made a "shoo" hand motion as she undressed and Laura irritably took the dismissal with a stubbornly polite half-curtsy. Carmilla rolled her eyes - admittedly Laura wasn't quite as...proper with Carmilla as she should be, and on the rare occasion she was Carmilla typically waved her off - but Laura thought she saw her fighting a smile. As she turned to go, she also thought she caught a glimpse of a dark bruise blossoming across Carmilla's ribs, but then she was concealed by the door jamb and Laura had decency enough to give her privacy.

-

It was as if nothing had happened the next day. Laura woke Carmilla around mid-morning to much grumbling, they ate breakfast together (that was new; Laura took it as a peace offering when Carmilla gestured without a word for Laura to sit and pushed the tray of food toward her), then secluded themselves in a quiet study for Carmilla to review papers of what Laura gathered to be a political nature, from the furrow of Carmilla's brow. They both carefully avoided talking about the last few days and the night before, but things between them had somehow fallen back into the old comfort they had so quickly become familiar with.

Laura wasn't entirely certain why Carmilla kept her around when she was working like this. She didn't mind, but Carmilla had never actually asked her to do anything, simply keeping her quiet company. This wouldn't have been out of the ordinary for a personal servant, if not for the fact that Carmilla so rarely wanted the staff around.

With a sigh Carmilla tossed the pile of papers in her hand onto the table. She rubbed her eyes and leaned back in her tall chair, head tilted back against it. Laura admired the column of her throat for a moment before she realised that was probably weird and forced her attention back to the book in front of her.

That peculiar sensation of being watched prickled at the back of Laura's neck and she only managed to keep her concentration on the pages in front of her for another minute before looking up to see Carmilla watching her intently. She met those dark eyes with an expectant look. Carmilla's gaze remained calculating and Laura could feel heat creeping up her neck to tint her cheeks pink.

"Shouldn't you be working?" she said pointedly.

Carmilla shrugged, "Mother handles all matters of court. I'm just looking over some old treaties."

Something in the way she said it made Laura want to ask why but in the time it took for her to decide whether they were close enough to ask or if she'd be told off and put in her place, Carmilla was already on her feet. Deciding she likely wouldn't get a straight answer anyway, she watched Carmilla stretch her back and stood as well. She made a mental note of her page and closed the book, picking it and Carmilla's discarded papers up. It was clear from the way Carmilla was looking out the window that whatever they'd be doing, they wouldn't be staying.

During an argument once (Laura knew one shouldn't pick a fight with royalty, but Carmilla started it half the time and it wasn't _really_ Laura's fault) Carmilla had scathingly, sarcastically asked what Laura did for fun. Laura had been caught off guard and couldn't quite recall what she'd shouted back (whatever it was it wasn't a satisfactory answer because she did remember Carmilla's snort of derision), but it had got her thinking when she'd cooled down a bit what the princess did for fun.

Carmilla didn't seem to much care about anything. She enjoyed riding horses well enough. She read quite a lot. She seemed to have spent quite a lot of time in the tavern and with girls (rumour could have told Laura that even if she hadn't seen it in passing). She occasionally stared wistfully out windows, though Laura couldn't imagine what she was seeing.

It had been nearly a month and despite spending so much of it by Carmilla's side, she still felt like a complete mystery to Laura.

"Earth to Hollis. Are you listening to me?" Carmilla said, snapping her fingers in front of Laura's face.

Laura batted her hand away, mildly pleased she seemed to be every bit of an irritation to Carmilla as Carmilla was to her, before saying, "What? I'm listening."

"Sure you are, sunshine," Carmilla rolled her eyes, "I said I'm going down to the stables. You can come with me if you want or if you'd rather go find your bookworm and that nerd you hang out with, you can go."

"Was that an invitation?" Laura said with a smile. Carmilla scowled at the teasing tone. "Alright, alright, let me drop this off in your room and I'll meet you there."

"Just leave it. It's not relevant but I might finish reading it later," Carmilla sighed.

Laura set the papers and book back down - if Carmilla was coming back, Laura might as well come with her and make sure she got dinner - and the pair of them left the stuffy room together. The corridors were sunny and out one of the spotless windows Laura could see people milling about on the castle grounds. It was unseasonably warm and it seemed everyone was taking advantage.

"Good day, Carmilla," Perry greeted perkily from where she was standing on a stool to scrub at the glass of a tall window.

Carmilla gave a lazy half-salute and kept walking. Laura, on the other hand, waved cheerfully and Perry smiled and waved back. She seemed more at ease without LaFontaine around. Odd.

Running into Will in the entrance hall was an unexpected turn. Carmilla glared and he smirked, drawling, "Hey, kitty."

"William."

"Ooh, cold. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" he asked in a falsely concerned voice. (Laura could swear he glanced her way as he said it.)

Kirsch was with him and looked between the two with mild confusion. Laura herself wasn't really sure what to do; she'd only met Will once, briefly. He'd spared her one analysing look over Carmilla's shoulder and proceeded to act as if she didn't exist. It had been early enough in her service that she distinctly remembered thinking the superiority complex was genetic.

"Are you taking your pet for a walk, or are you finally on your way to do your job?" Will said.

" _Pet?_ " Laura fumed, stopped from anything further by a sharp look from Carmilla.

"And what exactly is my 'job,' baby brother?" Carmilla asked, equally condescending.

"You don't even know?" He laughed derisively, "That witch we executed last month. _Your_ knights arrested an accomplice trying to break into the castle two nights ago. She's been in custody, awaiting interrogation. I just assumed, since that's your _duty_ , that you were having a bit of _fun_ with her first."

Carmilla's lip curled with disgust.

"Ah yes, but you weren't here, were you?"

Carmilla pushed past Will, shoving both him and the dumbfounded knight-recruit beside him out of the way as she stormed out the front doors. Laura chased after her, her slightly shorter legs meaning she had to jog to keep up with Carmilla's stride (also, wow, all that time training in heavy armour really paid off). She could hear Kirsch's bro-filled questions to Will about what he'd just said, but Laura's mind was already racing as much as her heart - though whether that was from the revelation or exertion, she wasn't entirely sure. Either way, this was a link to the mirror. And answers.

She caught up with Carmilla at the bottom of the front steps where she'd stopped. Her shoulders were tense as Laura skidded to a halt behind her. Her fist was clenched around the hilt of the sword always at her hip.

"Carmilla?" Laura hesitantly said, moving to stand at her side.

"So much for a relaxing day," Carmilla said, heaving a sigh.

"Your mother didn't say anything to you?" Laura asked.

"No. Does that surprise you? She's the Queen," Carmilla stated, "I'm sure she's had other things on her mind and keeping me in the loop is hardly a top priority."

There was that would-be casual tone again, the one Laura didn't understand but desperately wanted to. Not quite blank, carefully controlled, intentionally light. She was still tense.

"Are you going? To talk to her. I mean, you were in charge of that investigation," Laura said, hoping her level of investment wasn't too obvious.

Carmilla frowned as she looked at Laura. As if she was as much a mystery to her as she was to Laura.

Finally, she ran a hand through her hair and said, not sounding very enthusiastic, "Yeah, I suppose so."

-

The dungeons were cold and damp. Not surprising, but still unpleasant. Laura had made a point to avoid them as much as possible, not half because she worried someday she might end up in a cell down here herself.

It turned out the prisoner wasn't terribly bothered by it, though. She sat at the far end of her jail cell, back against the solid stone wall. Her eyes remained closed even as they approached.

"Comfortable?" Carmilla spoke first.

"Absolutely," the prisoner answered dryly. Laura was surprised she answered at all.

"Tell me what I want to know and I'll see about getting you out of here," Carmilla said.

"Now why would I do that when I'm where I wanted to be?" the prisoner said, eyes finally opening to slide between Laura and Carmilla before settling on the latter with a calculating gaze.

"Look, I don't have the time or patience for this. If you're not going to talk, we could always see how long it takes to break your fingers," Carmilla threatened far too gleefully for Laura's comfort, running a hand along the bars of the cell.

"You've no proof I'm who you think I am. You wouldn't risk the backlash," the prisoner replied casually, as if discussing the weather and not being maimed.

Carmilla signaled a guard over to unlock the cell. Laura wondered if Carmilla would actually do it. She also wondered if she was the only sane person in the room, but she felt it better to not actually say this aloud.

With a sigh, the prisoner said, "I knew her. The woman you executed. I came here looking for a mirror she may have had, not to finish her misguided plots of revenge. Did you happen to find the mirror?"

"You're asking me questions?" Carmilla snorted in disbelief. "If we did find this mirror, do you really think we'd just tell you? What's important about it?"

"So you didn't find it. That's a shame, I'm sure Her Majesty would very much like to get her hands on it. Tell me, was she terribly disappointed?"

Carmilla's face was as impassive as ever but somehow this made the prisoner smile.

Carmilla held up a hand to the guard that had been waiting at her side to unlock the cell, signaling him off. His armour clanked against the stone floor as he returned to his post against the wall to the left. There was another guard behind them, near the spiral staircase out. Yet another stood outside. Laura wasn't even a prisoner and she felt trapped; she couldn't imagine how the woman behind the bars was so calm.

"I'll be back. Don't go anywhere without me," Carmilla said sarcastically, turning on her heel and cutting the interrogation short.

Laura stared after her in surprise but was stopped from following her up the stairs by the prisoner speaking now to her.

"You were meant for great things. Why do you follow her?"

"Excuse me?"

"You are not unlike I. You have potential. And yet you squander it on someone that sees you as nothing, who stands on the sidelines apathetic when she could change things," the prisoner said, that even, peaceful voice somehow unnerving.

"We are nothing alike, I don't know what you're talking about. I have to go," Laura muttered, hurrying after her mistress despite whatever this stranger said.

She took the steps two at a time, whipped around the corner, and tripped right over Carmilla.

"Hey," the princess snarled, catching Laura by the elbow.

"Hey," Laura said back, somewhat dazed.

Carmilla rolled her eyes but waited for Laura to straighten before letting go. She then turned back to the knight she was talking to when Laura collided with her.

"There's a good chance she knows magic. Don't talk to her, don't be alone with her at any time, double the guard. Let me know directly if anything happens," Carmilla ordered.

Laura noticed Carmilla's hand was on her sword again. She wondered if it was a comfort to her. Laura felt a bit shaken, herself; it was as if the prisoner had known the worries that nagged at her subconscious and put words to them.

That crease between Carmilla's eyebrows was still present as the knight saluted and clattered down the corridor and Laura had the absurd urge to reach out and smooth it over.

Ignoring this bizarre impulse, she said, "What do we do now?"

"Nothing. My mother has her reasons for everything; if she didn't tell me, it's none of my business and I'm not stupid enough to question her," Carmilla said and Laura tried to hide the disappointment at being told to let it go. Carmilla's hand dropped from her sword as she added, voice lighter and a bit softer, "Now, I believe you and I had plans."

-

They arrived in the stables with a bag of carrots over a half hour later, having gotten waylaid once more by Perry, who insisted on making them both lunch. The young man mucking out the horses bowed out when Carmilla told him to leave and they were left alone again.

The sounds of daily life were muffled behind the castle walls, away from the main bustle of Silas. The world seemed quieter here. Almost like home. Had Laura's mind not been preoccupied with jail cells (and their inhabitants) and mirrors, she'd have appreciated that it was only just Spring and the weather was comfortable enough for them to be standing there, hair tied up, in tunics without coats or furs.

Light filtered in from windows up by the slanted roof, shafts of sunlight brightening patches of the dirt floor. Carmilla stepped into one such beam and all thoughts of the prisoner's words and magic mirrors slipped from Laura's mind.

Objectively speaking, Laura could see why Carmilla was popular with the girls she picked up in the tavern; she was muscular in all the right places, soft in others and her features could have been carved in marble. Not that Laura was attracted to her. She was her boss. And horrible. Still, she wasn't blind and seeing her here, lit by sunshine in the quiet stables, gently stroking a chestnut mare's neck, something in Laura's chest loosened and warmed.

Animals were generally skittish around Laura until she proved she meant them no harm, which usually didn't take long; Laura loved animals and it showed. She thought it was probably the magic that spooked them. Domesticated animals knew she was different than most of the people they'd been around, something off about her that perhaps they didn't understand. Wild animals, she supposed, must have sensed the danger she could pose.

Carmilla, by contrast, was excellent with animals. Her favourite horse was a sleek black mare with a white diamond on her forehead that was stubborn, brave and absolutely uncooperative to anybody but Carmilla, whom she turned to putty for. She was also loyal, though. She'd never once kicked any of the handlers and, as far as Laura knew, never thrown Carmilla from her back. 

It was this horse and the palomino that Laura had ridden all those days ago when Carmilla had dragged her out of the city limits at four in the morning (it felt like a century ago, not just a few weeks, but looking back, Laura realised just how rattled Carmilla had been then, before their short impromptu trip into the hills around Silas) that they now took out again. Carmilla led her and the two horses to the track, rather than the gates, and once they were saddled, Carmilla told Laura that she was going to teach her to "properly ride a horse."

"I'm not having you slow me down if I ever take you out of town," she said.

"I didn't think I was that bad," Laura mumbled, though she did follow Carmilla's instructions.

(It wasn't lost on her that just a few days ago she'd been bitter about not being trusted to go with Carmilla and now Carmilla was preparing her in case of such a trip.)

(Laura should really stop assuming things; Carmilla never failed to surprise her.)

//

Carmilla's side still hurt and she was quietly relieved (for a change) that at one time she'd been her mother's favourite; it meant not much was expected from her as soon as she got back and she was given a relaxing day. At least until Will decided to ruin her mood. She suspected he was irked she'd been sent to do a job he'd prefer do himself.

She was so concerned about Laura asking about it again that she was completely blindsided when, while telling her how to adjust her hold on the reins of her horse, she instead asked, "Why does your mother hate magic so much?"

The hand she had on Laura's wrist froze and Laura looked stricken the moment the words were out of her mouth.

Hoping Laura would backpedal, it was a long minute before Carmilla said, "It's dangerous. She has a kingdom to run. Why wouldn't she?"

"It's only as dangerous as the person who uses it. Magic itself is no more dangerous than your blade," Laura argued, a frown marring her irritatingly pretty features.

"I've been trained to kill since birth, cutie. I'd say that's pretty dangerous," Carmilla smirked.

Laura pursed her lips but said no more.

In an attempt to smooth over the moment, Carmilla nudged her own horse closer, hooked a finger in Laura's belt, and adjusted how her servant was sitting astride the horse. She squeaked at the action and Carmilla snickered.

Once she was confident there was less of a chance of Laura toppling off the horse, and with instruction to make her more likely to keep up than whoever had previously taught her how to ride a horse had given her, Carmilla set them off at a brisk pace around the track. It wasn't particularly large, and after a few laps with Laura keeping pace, Carmilla decided to make it more interesting.

"What do you say to a little wager?" she offered, knowing Laura couldn't turn down a challenge from her.

"What do you have in mind?" Laura asked cautiously. Smart.

"How about a race? You win, you can have a few days off."

"And if you win?"

"Two weeks of attending to my horses, and answering any time I call on you," Carmilla suggested.

"I already do that anyway," Laura said, more amused than annoyed. What a refreshing change.

"Fair point," Carmilla admitted, thinking back to the few (many) times she had called on her servant at odd hours and had Laura actually respond promptly.

She wondered, not for the first time, why Laura had stuck around. Carmilla knew she wasn't the easiest person to be around - she made sure of it - but Laura hadn't budged. And despite how much she talked, she never said much. It hadn't slipped Carmilla's notice that she never mentioned her mother in her many stories of home, that large parts of her life were kept completely from Carmilla.

"Alright, how about you swear to answer six questions truthfully," Carmilla said.

"Two," Laura replied after a moment, still not looking thrilled.

"Five."

"Three."

"Fine," Carmilla agreed with another smirk.

"Fine," Laura repeated irritably and they shook on it.

Carmilla won, of course, but a small, traitorous part of her thought the breathless smile Laura gave her at the finish line would have been reward enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> This chapter went through several different versions before I settled on this, so feedback is once again very much appreciated :)
> 
> You can also find me on [tumblr](http://kvrnsteins.tumblr.com) if you want to talk or just see me abuse the tags system (occasionally while talking about this fic).


	3. Does it almost feel like you've been here before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the kind comments and kudos, creampuffs, you're all amazing!   
> Apologies for such a long wait between chapters, I got unexpectedly busy. To make up for it, this chapter is a monster at over 13k words long and there's a bit of a POV switch (and I gotta say, it kills me not to have Carmilla call Danny "Clifford" at every opportunity). Enjoy?
> 
> Mild warning for violence this chapter, too.

Over the next two months the knight-recruits improved monumentally. Lawrence still managed to outpace everyone during morning runs, but Kirsch was not only no longer a danger to himself, but had also begun to match the giantess in combat. Within a few months, they'd be ready to be tested and promoted.

Laura had so easily woven her way into Carmilla's life that she could scarcely remember what it had been like without her. She knew Carmilla's routine and preferences almost better than Carmilla herself did and had proven herself time and again to be reliable (if not always competent) and, most surprisingly, loyal, Carmilla thought, to her rather than her mother.

Then again, if it came down to it, fear was a powerful motivator and it was clear Laura was terrified of the Queen. Not of Carmilla, interestingly enough, if the servant's cheek was anything to go by.

Carmilla still hadn't told her what her occasional trips out of Silas were for. She wasn't protecting her, she didn't care enough to do that. (That was a lie and she knew it.) She wasn't worried about what she'd think, because she didn't care about that, either. (That was also a lie.)

She didn't know why she didn't say anything, or even bring her along when she'd certainly be a help. It wasn't as if she had anything to hide; she was under no obligation to tell a servant anything and she was following orders, after all. Sure, she shouldn't be going alone, but she'd never been much of a team player.

Maybe she just didn't want Laura to see that part of her yet. A part of her enjoyed the trips and she doubted Laura would understand. Things had been going so remarkably well for a change, Carmilla didn't really want to be the one to mess it up. And if that meant she had to keep lying by omission, well, she was good at keeping her silence.

-

The courtyard was warm and bright in the late afternoon sun. Carmilla sat back in the shade of a tree, book in hand, Laura polishing a blade beside her. Her eyes drooped closed, the early-Summer sun warming her skin. A light breeze ruffled the leaves of the tree above her. If not for the sound of the dimwits arguing across from them, Carmilla may have felt at peace.

She was just drifting off to sleep when a door slammed closed somewhere nearby and she jerked upright. Her heart beat frantically in her chest but she was, at the very least, aware of her surroundings (she thought she was getting better about that). And of Laura watching her out of the corner of her eye with concern. She turned her gaze to her servant, who immediately turned red at being caught and looked away.

"Hey!" Carmilla barked to the bickering mountains. Danny and Kirsch turned to her sheepishly without her even having to reprimand them further. "Shouldn't you be preparing for the tourney or something?"

Danny's fists clenched but the puppy that followed her around didn't seem at all put out by Carmilla's yelling. The words " _shouldn't you?_ " were written clearly on Danny's face and in her body language but she wasn't quite stupid enough to actually say them, it seemed.

Not that she was wrong, of course. Carmilla would never admit to that, but her mother _did_ expect great things from her.

The Silas Annual Combat Tournament was in just over a week. It was to be a week long event, all the strongest warriors in the realm fighting for glory and honour and blah, blah, blah. Carmilla, as champion in every tourney she'd fought in, would be expected to fight, as usual.

She hadn't exactly been training, though.

Evidently this had not gone unnoticed.

She rolled her eyes. As if she gave a damn what anybody thought.

With a great sigh, Carmilla hauled herself to her feet. Reaching her arms above her head, she stretched her back and it popped in a few places from not having moved much in the last hour or so.

She may not care what people thought, but that didn't mean she wanted to be killed in front of the largest crowd Silas had seen in months. Displeasing her mother wasn't something she was particularly keen to do, either.

"Come on, creampuff. My armour's not going to put it on itself," Carmilla said to Laura, who hopped up easily.

Laura waved to Danny, then turned to start chattering animatedly to Carmilla. She was far more interested in this tournament than Carmilla would have thought, and had been pestering Carmilla about the rules and traditions and past events for more than a week. Carmilla suspected, rather sourly, that it had more to do with tall, shining, and orange back in the courtyard than genuine interest.

Still, the enthusiasm was cute and she answered the questions about which knights would be fighting and for whom, what armour and techniques were best in this situation, how she felt about competing. The interest may not have been for her, but a part of her (a part she still fought tooth and nail) thought perhaps this was what having a friend was like.

//

Danny knew from the moment she met Laura Hollis that the girl was special.

Well, okay, so their introduction wasn't the greatest. The tiny figure crashing into her, nose in a crumpled piece of parchment, wasn't the best thing that could happen when Danny was running late for her first day as a Knight of the Kingdom of Silas, but then Laura had given her that bright, nervous smile and Danny had grinned back and offered help (that was what knights were meant to do, right? Chivalry!) and she hadn't even been that late, so it was fine.

They had lunch together almost every day, shared their thoughts on books and stories, complained about their day to each other until it wasn't so bad anymore. Things were good, even if neither of them had much time. Laura was so often busy with Carmilla or studying or her friends, and Danny had always been an athlete. She trained hard and focused and it sometimes left her social life a bit wanting, but she always made time for Laura.

The other knights were good friends, too. They understood what it took to succeed, to want to protect the kingdom and the people.

Danny got up with the sun, running a course around the castle and edge of town before even heading off to train with the others. She fought the hardest in their practice sessions, and it showed. When the group of them hit the tavern at the end of a rough week (or day), she usually didn't drink too much.

She'd wanted this more than anything since she was a kid and she was determined to make the most out of it. Her family was proud, she knew, and she wanted to keep it up. (She'd be lying if she said she wasn't hoping a bit to impress Laura, too.)

That was why she reluctantly enlisted Kirsch's help for extra hours of practice before the big tournament. She could compete without having fully been initiated into Knighthood for Silas thanks to noble blood on her mother's side, and Danny knew she was better with a bow than a blade; she wanted to change that by the time she'd be fighting. Kirsch was an irritation, but he was also a quick learner and a decent combatant. Not to mention more than happy to help her out.

She was in the middle of arguing with him about the best way to disarm a foe in the arena when Carmilla shouted at them. She turned to glare. Did Carmilla even _do_ _anything_? As far as Danny could tell, she just sat around reading and annoying everyone around her in the most condescending manner possible.

Laura truly was a saint for putting up with her all the time. From Laura's lunchtime tales, she sounded like a terrible boss. If she was anything like she was with the knights, Danny didn't doubt it. Sometimes she worried that Laura was overworked and not getting enough sleep, but she still managed to be friendly and cheerful.

(And if Laura's complaints had become fewer in recent weeks, even defending Carmilla once or twice, Danny didn't think much of it.)

Clearly Carmilla wasn't concerned about the tourney, because she stood, stretched, and had Laura follow her inside. Laura waved over her shoulder to Danny and Danny felt that familiar leap in her stomach at the grin on her face. She waved back before turning to Kirsch. He was watching her, collar sticking out from under his usual sleeveless chainmail, muscles on full display.

"Alright, popped collar, let's try this again. Tilt your shield like this..."

//

LaFontaine and Perry had been friends for as long as LaFontaine could remember. She'd always been there and they didn't know what life was like without her. No matter what happened, what they'd been through, she had been the one constant in their life.

Their parents died of a plague when LaFontaine was fairly young and Perry's parents had been kind enough to take them in. They practically lived there anyway, Perry's parents claimed; they were already family. The Perry clan had made it just a bit easier to handle everything and LaFontaine didn't know what they would do without them.

That was why it was such a shock when they confided in Perry their magic. She...did not respond as well as they hoped. To say the least.

They still remembered their first spell. Unlike Laura, they'd studied magic before trying to do it. It hadn't been anything complicated or dangerous. As much as they'd like to try something more complex, they just wanted to see what they were capable of.

So they changed their hair from its natural bright orange to a pale blue. They'd been going for violet, but the mere fact that it changed had them jumping up from their bed, small mirror in hand, to cheer.

Footsteps had echoed down the hall and they could clearly recall scrambling for something to hide their hair as a knock sounded on their door, Perry asking if they were okay. They'd pulled a hat down over their eyes just in time for the door to open.

Heart still pounding but delight making their blood sing, they greeted their best friend cheerfully with a half-truth about research and Perry had accepted the answer at face value, as she always did.

They had only been waiting until they were better at it, until the right time, to tell her.

The right time never came and eventually, it just slipped out. Not entirely unintentionally, but every plan they'd made to tell her fell aside in favour of it.

They'd been talking and she knew something was up and so LaFontaine just went for it: "Perry, I can do magic."

There was an awkward silence for a long minute before Perry tried to deny it. She didn't understand, couldn't wrap her mind around how her best friend could do this, had been keeping it from her. She even tried to convince LaFontaine they were wrong, pacing violently until LaFontaine grabbed her by the shoulders as she passed them again, stopping her so they were facing each other.

They cast about the room for something to show her, eyes landing on the sandwich she's brought them. They pulled the lettuce out of the bread, held it in the palm of their hand and, with a murmured "watch," turned it into a small bouquet of yellow roses. They proudly held the flowers out for her with a slight nervous smile.

She turned deathly pale and looked rather like LaFontaine had just strangled her puppy.

"No. No, no, no, this can't be happening. This is a trick, right? You can't be a- a-" Perry stammered.

"Mage?" LaFontaine supplied.

Perry's eyes went wide and she hastily glanced over her shoulder, as if expecting armoured men to kick down the door and drag them both away at the mere word.

"Perry, relax. Nobody knows, I've been careful. It's-"

"I...I have to get back to work," Perry cut them off.

LaFontaine protested but she was out of the room and down the hall by the time they got to the door, calling after her, the yellow roses forgotten on the ground.

It hadn't been the last - or worst - argument they'd had about it.

(LaFontaine remembered that crystal clear, as well:

"I just don't understand why you insist on making things harder for yourself," Perry had said crisply.

"I'm not-" LaFontaine had shoved the hurt down, forcing their voice steady as they said, "This is who I am, Perr. I can't just _stop_.")

She'd speak over them or change the subject any time they tried to bring it up, absolutely refusing to acknowledge anything had happened, that anything had changed, until the issue was forced.

LaFontaine had been mistaken for a deer while looking for herbs in the woods outside of Silas and was shot (with their hair colour they suspected this was bullshit, but knew better than to say it to someone so far above their station as the lord who'd fired the arrow), and it had been magic that healed the wound enough for them to make it back to town for "proper" medical care.

She'd been so worried that when LaFontaine pointed out that they could use this for others, to _help_ people, she'd conceded that it wasn't entirely terrible and tried to support them. And while she'd tried to be more understanding, it still wasn't the easiest and meeting Laura was a relief.

Laura was sunny and friendly and great to bounce ideas off of, so it wasn't really a surprise that they got along so well with her. Of course, she tended to spend most of her time around the princess, who was not the greatest company - especially when one had a deep, dark secret of the treasonous variety.

Occasionally Carmilla would drop by wherever Laura happened to be with LaFontaine (usually the library; they were starting to feel like JP, trapped in the damn thing) and LaFontaine realised they didn't actually mind her. Sure she was sarcastic and would probably have them in chains before they could blink if she knew what they were studying on the side, but she had some interesting things to say if one wanted a philosophical discussion, and she did have a sense of humour. It didn't take a genius to figure out there was something else beneath the surface with her, though LaFontaine got the sense it wasn't something they should dig into.

And then there was the way she looked at Laura. Laura never seemed to notice the way Carmilla's eyes were so often on her, blind to the rest of the world. How they softened around the edges for her. It would have been funny if it weren't mildly gross.

Laura wasn't much better. LaFontaine wondered if she even knew how much she talked about Carmilla. Even when she wasn't around, Laura's mind was usually on her. She never cancelled plans with them and Carmilla didn't take up so much of her attention that she couldn't focus on even the more complex sorcery, but it was clear their relationship went beyond that of just a master and servant.

Carmilla left Silas unannounced with no explanation (LaF really didn't see why this concerned Laura so much) exactly four times over the first three months that Laura was a servant. Twice, she returned injured. The second time, she'd been completely alone - a fact that had Laura _mildly_ enraged - and had sustained a pretty bad burn.

Laura pounded on LaFontaine's door in the middle of the night, babbling a thousand words a minute about Carmilla showing up at _her_ door hurt and how she needed their help right now and Carmilla was up at the castle already being tended to but couldn't they do something?

Honestly, LaFontaine stopped listening partway through, letting Laura in and leaving the room while she still ranted to get dressed. They'd taken one look at Carmilla to see that Laura actually did have reason to be concerned, for a change. They'd returned home to get the herbs they thought would help, but it had been Laura that thought to enchant the poultice they'd made.

It worked like a charm (pun very much intended). Carmilla's burned leg and back were healed within a day, not so much as leaving a scar.

Laura tried to thank LaFontaine, but they'd said it was all on her. (They had, in fact, learned a handy trick they could use when they were the one called to actually heal people.) She'd blushed and from then on, LaFontaine would never let her live down constantly saving the princess.

Amazing, really, how dense the pair of them were. LaF wondered if they'd ever figure it out.

//

Sunlight reflected blindingly off Carmilla's armour, fracturing with her movement. She jerked her helmet off, tossing it aside to match her enemy. She pulled the leather band from her upper arm to tie her hair up out of the way, sharp eyes watchful for any sudden motion.

All the attentiveness in the world could not have helped her in the following moments. The resignation upon her face indicated she'd known all along how this would end: cold steel sliding harshly against the soft, vulnerable flesh of her neck. The endless blue sky she loved so much above her, packed dirt against her back as she crumbled, quickly stained red.

Silently, almost peacefully, she turned her head, hazy gaze shifting from Will to her pet next to him who screamed her name.

Will awoke with a jolt. It took a moment to reorient himself. He was in his room, alone. It was dark.

He had been dreaming.

It had all seemed so real. It always did - probably because his dreams had a habit of _becoming_ reality. He touched his forehead to find a thin sheen of sweat.

Carmilla was, admittedly, not his favourite person in the world, but she was his sister. As much as he resented her, he didn't think he wanted her dead. But what could he do? She would never believe she was in danger based on a dream; especially Will's. Even if she did, a part of him realised it sounded an awful lot like magic and he would _not_ be suspected of being a warlock.

The images played back in his mind again and again as he thought it over. Deciding there was nothing to be done and hoping that this time it would just turn out to be a dream, he punched his pillow back into shape and forced himself to drift back to sleep.

//

Laura yawned and rubbed her eyes. She and Carmilla were just outside the castle, Laura sitting cross-legged against one enormous wall. While she enjoyed watching Carmilla's graceful, precise movements as she went about her forms in preparation for the tournament, it had gone dark nearly an hour ago and Laura was tired and hungry. (Not cold, at least.)

"Carm," she called, voice soft with sleepiness. She was somewhat surprised Carmilla could hear her over the clinking of her chainmail. "Why don't you call it a night?"

Carmilla glanced up, as if only just realising the sun had set. Laura wondered where she went when she got stuck in her mind sometimes.

She twirled her sword in that cocksure way she did (Laura rolled her eyes, as she usually did) and sheathed it. Laura took that as her cue and stood, brushing grass off herself and hurried to follow Carmilla back inside.

"Tomorrow we're going to see if we can find armour small enough for you. The knights have the rest of the week off and I could use some practice against a person instead of just going through the motions," Carmilla said.

"Wait, you're going to use me as a practice dummy?" Laura asked indignantly.

Carmilla's only answer was to flash her that obnoxious smirk. Laura huffed, trudging up the front steps of the palace behind Carmilla.

-

Carmilla hadn't been kidding.

The next week found Laura, more often than not, in a spare suit of Carmilla's plate armour (she was _one inch_ taller than Laura, she really didn't get to tease her about her height), shield in hand. The armour wasn't quite as heavy as she'd expected, but she still felt clumsy in it at first.

Always opposite her was Carmilla, in the same spot as that first night. Her own armour was what Laura had grown accustomed to seeing her in: highly polished, finely crafted steel that was light enough to move more freely in while still offering great protection. Laura gathered that the Queen had had it commissioned shortly before they'd met. The royal crest was emblazoned in crimson and gold on the front, to match the surcoat or cape usually worn with it. Fitting, for a princess.

They spent their time preparing for the melee, though it felt like they were taking breaks just as often for Carmilla to teach Laura how better to defend herself. Laura tried to tell her it wasn't necessary, but what could she really say? She couldn't very well just tell Carmilla that if it came to a fight she wouldn't actually need a shield or armour for defence.

(Oddly, as time went on, Laura wished more and more that she could tell her about her magic.)

Meanwhile, knights from all over poured into Silas.

Laura had never seen so many warriors all in one place before. It was truly something to see, and for a change, it didn't make Laura nervous. Despite three months around them, she still had a habit of tensing up around guards or soldiers. (To be fair, it was mostly knights she spent time with, and most of the castle guard knew her.) Now, though, it felt like she could just blend in with the crowd.

Danny was training even harder than Carmilla was. Not that Carmilla seemed particularly dedicated, more that she was doing it because she had to. Danny, on the other hand, seemed genuinely excited, between bouts of running herself into the ground training and sleeping like a log in unusual places.

The library was more crowded than usual, too. Knights brushing up on history, checking into stories about other Houses and their techniques. Laura found Danny asleep at a table with Betty one afternoon, a piece of paper stuck comically to her face when she jumped awake at Laura's chair scraping against the floor as she pulled it out to sit with them.

That was an odd friendship, Betty and Danny. Then again, most of Laura's friendships probably didn't make sense to outsiders, either. Her relationship with Carmilla least of all. (She didn't understand the connection there herself, and was doing her best to ignore it.)

On the night before the tournament began, Carmilla knocked on Laura and Betty's front door sometime after dinner. Betty was out and so it was Laura that answered, surprised to see her there.

"Do you need something?" Laura asked.

Carmilla shrugged. "Mind if I come in?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Laura said and stepped aside, Carmilla already slipping past her into the house.

"Where's-" Carmilla paused, brow furrowing.

"Betty," Laura said in an annoyed tone. "She's gone. Do you want anything? We have..."

Laura went to the small kitchen area as Carmilla made herself comfortable at the table, looking around the room curiously.

"Cocoa, peanut butter and snack cakes," Laura cringed. Really, they should probably go shopping.

"I think I'll pass."

Shrugging, Laura sat down on the other side of the small table from Carmilla - thankfully free of towering stacks of books today.

"Nervous?"

"That would imply being worried about how things will turn out," Carmilla answered.

It was arrogant and presumptuous and frankly a little insulting to the competition and Laura laughed. She was rewarded with a small smile from Carmilla.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence.

In quiet moments like this, Laura could almost forget that she was a servant with a secret that could get her killed and that Carmilla was a princess, a whole kingdom on her shoulders. She wondered if they'd still be friends (were they friends?) if the circumstances had been different.

//

Carmilla couldn't explain why she went to Laura. It just felt a bit inevitable that she'd end up with her, and she couldn't sleep anyway, and she'd had a bit to drink, so she'd just taken the whim to drop by. She'd been to her house a few times and even slightly inebriated it wasn't difficult to find.

Laura let her in with a confused (possibly slightly concerned, but Carmilla brushed that off) look and Carmilla glanced around the room. Not quite messy, but certainly lived in. Clearly a home.

She dropped into a chair while Laura offered her food and drink that should probably indicate why Laura was so tiny. She turned it down and Laura asked if she was nervous as she settled across from her. Really, Carmilla wasn't nervous - she probably should be but when had she ever done what she should? - and so she said so.

Laura laughed and the sound settled warm and comforting in Carmilla's chest, like mead on a crisp Fall night but with more clarity.

Maybe she was drunker than she thought.

"You want to go for a walk?" she asked. It apparently didn't come out the way she'd meant it to because Laura looked like Carmilla had just suggested they elope. She just wanted to clear her mind, get a bit of fresh air. "It's a nice night out."

Yeah, okay, she didn't even care how that sounded anymore. She stood, intending to leave whether Laura was with her or not.

"Sure," Laura answered anyway.

Carmilla waited for her to pull a light coat on over her homespun tunic (no scarf, Carmilla noted absently) before pushing the front door open. It squeaked on its hinges and clattered shut behind them, Laura locking it.

They meandered down the dark streets. Brightly coloured banners were hung for the tournament, posters for it plastered on walls here and there. The sky was clear, stars bright.

"I missed the last tournament," Carmilla said quietly.

Dirt crunched under their feet. They passed the tavern and could hear the clinking of glasses and silverware, muffled laughter and conversation. Carmilla would be avoiding the establishment until the tournament was over and it was less crowded with drunken fools and rowdy fighters. Same thing, really.

"Why?" Laura asked and it took Carmilla's wine-addled mind a minute to figure out what she was asking about.

"Wasn't here," Carmilla said.

Her brow furrowed. Had nobody even noticed? It had been nearly eight months.

"I was still living with my dad in the country this time last year. We heard a few people talking about coming and some even passed through town, but we never actually heard much about the tournament itself. I always thought it sounded exciting," Laura said.

Oh.

"Oh." _Very eloquent, Carmilla, good job._

Laura bit her lip and Carmilla knew her well enough to know what she was about to ask, and intercepted the question with, "You know people die, right? In the tournament. Didn't think that was something you'd be into, sweetheart."

"It's not, but I'd always heard stories about honourable knights, fighting to prove themselves and win favour with their lords. I liked the idea that anybody could be somebody if they fought hard enough for it," Laura answered.

Carmilla hummed in response. Laura was naive and overly optimistic and at one point her idealism grated on Carmilla's every nerve. Somewhere along the way, though, it just became another part of what made Laura-

Stopping the thought before it fully formed, Carmilla also halted in the middle of the road. Laura took a few more steps before noticing Carmilla had fallen behind. She turned, brow raised.

"Carm?"

Ell was the last person Carmilla had let in. She wouldn't make the same mistake again.

"I bet we could get a bottle of champagne from the castle. Celebrate our freedom under the stars," Carmilla said.

If she'd been sober, she'd realise this was probably counterproductive. She wasn't, however, and more alcohol sounded like a _great_ idea.

//

"Laura," Betty whispered curiously.

"Mm?"

"Why is there a _princess sleeping in our front room_?"

Laura groaned and sat up. Light was streaming in from the window above her. A long second passed, then her eyes flew open and she jumped up.

"The tournament!"

She tripped on the sheets still around her, only just slowing her fall with magic at the last second before she crashed to the floor. She groaned again. She hadn't even had much to drink...

"Carm," she said when she finally managed to make it out of her room and down the stairs, straightening her shirt and running a hand through her hair as she went. "Carmilla!"

She shook Carmilla's shoulder until the princess waved her off lazily.

"The tournament's going to start any time now!" Laura said loudly - she wasn't the one hungover, after all.

"Shhh," Carmilla shushed her between a groan of her own and throwing the spare blanket over her shoulder.

Laura tugged the blanket off her and if looks could kill, Laura would have spontaneously combusted at Carmilla's glare. Thankfully, looks could not kill and she was nothing if not persistent.

"'M not competing 'til afternoon," Carmilla protested.

"You still have to show up," Laura said.

"My dad had a secret hangover cure, if you want," Betty offered.

Laura nodded with a grateful look and she moved to the kitchen on the other side of the little house from where Laura had pulled a lumpy spare bed out for Carmilla the previous night. Or rather, early in the morning.

They'd gone a little ways outside of town to where it wasn't quite so bright, laid down on a blanket to look at the stars. Carmilla had been well on her way to drunk already and still drank most of the champagne they'd smuggled from the castle wine cellar herself. Carmilla had told her about various constellations, a handful of her favourite stories about a few.

Then had Laura help her stagger back into town, refusing to show up drunk at the castle. Laura had suggested she just stay the night on the little spare mattress in the front room while Betty wasn't home anyway. She'd passed out almost immediately, fully clothed, and Laura had pulled her boots off and thrown a blanket over her before heading to her own room to get a couple hours of sleep.

The whole night had left Laura a bit confused. It was a side of Carmilla she'd only glimpsed a few times. Yet, Carmilla's walls were still up, she was still strangely distant, like she was trying to keep Laura at arm's length. The mixed signals would have left Laura wondering where they stood, if not for Carmilla's first question after Betty handed her a glass of what looked to be thick, dark green goop.

"I didn't say or do anything too stupid last night, did I?"

"No," Laura chuckled. Honestly, Carmilla hadn't said much at all beyond the subject of astronomy, even beyond her normal deflection of anything personal.

Carmilla nodded after a moment of looking into Laura's face, trying to discern if she was lying. She then took a sip of the goo Betty had given her and made a face that had Laura laughing in earnest.

"This is disgusting," Carmilla grimaced. "What the hell is this?"

"It's a family recipe," Betty replied indignantly, as if Carmilla telling her the sludge that smelled faintly of peppermint and some other herb Laura couldn't identify was a personal offence.

"Are you sure you're not trying to poison me?"

"Oh, just drink it. We need to get going," Laura said.

Carmilla scowled at her but downed the entire glass in one go. She looked mildly revolted and Laura was relatively certain Carmilla would not be having any meals with her and Betty any time soon.

\--

The first day's competition was brutal.

Carmilla shuffled into the stands beside her mother midway into the first match and Laura didn't miss the irritated look she shot Carmilla, or the way Carmilla looked down to avoid her fury. They exchanged no words, though, from what Laura could tell, and she'd turned her attention to the fight.

Most of the competitors were huge and muscly and all were well armoured. Every knight bore a coat of arms that was used to track their progress. Danny wasn't scheduled until around noon, by which time Laura was already starting to question just how honourable the fights really were.

Around an hour in a young man, perhaps only a few years older than Laura and not too much bigger, entered the arena. Opposite him was a significantly larger man with a beard that was so long it spilled out from beneath his helmet. The young man wore chainmail that appeared somewhat old and worn in comparison to the sturdier, polished plate armour of the other, and it promised to be a quick match.

Until it wasn't.

Expecting the younger of the two to be on the defensive from the moment they were signaled to fight, the audience was surprised when the smaller man held his own. It didn't last, however, and eventually the bearded knight had him against the stands, swinging hard, the young man only just leaping to the side in time. The man's blade cleaved through the wood railing and, in a moment that Laura could swear the air crackled with energy, the blade slid further down to get stuck.

The young man had enough strength in him to strike out at a weak spot in the armour at the back of his opponent's knee and cause him to stagger, shins colliding with the ground. With a vicious strike with the hilt of his blade, he brought his larger foe down, kicking him once for good measure before placing a heel on his chest.

Pinned, tip of the young man's sword at his throat, the bearded knight stayed down. The young man looked up for the call and the flag went up to signal his victory.

He stepped back to scattered applause, more enthusiastic than anticipated. The bearded man stood, swearing gruffly under his breath as he exited.

The young man looked breathless but pleased, face bright red and covered in sweat. He bowed showily to the crowd and waved before taking his own leave. Laura watched him go, wondering if it had been magic or a stroke of luck.

Danny match went much more smoothly. They were roughly the same size, but Danny was simply more skilled. After a particularly well executed parry, she swept her opponent's feet out from under them. They'd landed hard on their back, wind knocked out of them, and raised their hands in surrender.

Whatever weird solution Betty had given Carmilla seemed to have done the trick; Laura was in the middle of congratulating Danny as the tournament took a small intermission for lunch (hers was the last match) when Carmilla dragged her off to her tent to get prepared for her own fight. Her match was the first when they returned in just over a half hour and Laura managed to convince her to eat a bit of bread and cheese, just to not have her fight on an empty stomach.

Laura had just finished securing Carmilla's pauldrons and moved on to the clasp of her gauntlet when the Queen entered the tent. The dramatic part of Laura wanted to say it felt like the temperature dropped several degrees, though she knew that was unlikely. Carmilla tensed and Laura shrank behind her as the Queen approached. Carmilla's gaze flicked to her before moving back to her mother, not quite meeting her eye.

"Mother."

"Ah, my glittering girl," the Queen said, reaching up to ever so gently brush Carmilla's fringe from her eyes, "I know you will make me proud."

"Of course," Carmilla replied stiffly.

"Good. It would be a shame after your absence last year to not show everyone what you are capable of."

"I know what I'm doing, you don't need to...remind me," Carmilla said, an edge to her tone that Laura expected to Queen to not take kindly to and was instead surprised to see her smile and nod.

"I will see you out in the arena, then, dear," she said and turned to leave.

Laura wondered if all their meetings were so strained and brief. She was close with her father, couldn't imagine how things were between them.

Carmilla let out a breath through her teeth.

"What are you standing around for? My match is up next," Carmilla snapped.

Laura jumped back into motion, finishing up Carmilla's armour and retrieving a new, dangerously sharp arming sword for her. She handed her her helmet and the shield with the royal sigil on it next. Lastly was the long, crimson cape, fastened around her neck that swept the ground behind her.

It was an impressive look, befitting her royal status.

Carmilla stood stony-faced, jaw clenched, watching Laura. When she stopped in front of her, looking her up and down to make sure she'd remembered everything, Carmilla's gaze softened slightly.

"Good luck," Laura said at last.

"I won't need it, but thanks," Carmilla replied.

Laura tried not to think how that may have been the first time Carmilla had ever thanked her for anything, even if it was sarcastic, as she followed her back out.

The sun was high in the sky now, glinting off polished steel and likely making the competitors sweat in a more literal sense. Laura squeezed into the front row of the stands as they began to fill with spectators again. Carmilla was waiting in the shade near the entrance to the arena, Laura knew.

It wasn't long before everyone had gathered again, the murmuring of the crowd much louder with the knowledge that the princess's match was next. Trumpets announced her stepping into the arena and the murmur turned into a deafening roar as the stands came alive with applause and waving flags of the royal family colours.

Carmilla appeared different in front of the crowd. Confident. Charismatic. She played it up, arm raised in greeting of the audience.

She turned on the spot, eyes roving the stands until she caught Laura's gaze. Laura shot her a thumbs up and Carmilla rolled her eyes but gave her a crooked smile in return. Laura beamed and continued clapping with the rest until the other knight was introduced and Carmilla pulled her helmet on, unclipped her cape and handed it off to another servant, who scurried away quickly before the flag went up to signal the match to begin.

Drawing her sword, Carmilla spun it once in that showy way Laura had seen so many times. She and her opponent - a young knight, perhaps a year or two older than Carmilla, and rather average in size and build, as far as knights went - circled each other. Sizing each other up.

Carmilla moved first. Laura hadn't been expecting that, and clearly neither had the knight, only just bringing his sword up to deflect the strike. Metal clashed against metal for a moment before he jumped back.

They continued to circle. In the instant Carmilla glanced down at his feet, he attacked. She ducked the wide swing, turning smoothly as she passed under his arm, blade solidly landing against his back. He staggered forward, the blow enough to scratch the back of his armour.

She followed up with a low kick and he rolled forward rather than hitting the ground. He jumped to his feet, whipping around to counterattack but was too slow. Carmilla's sword clanged loudly against the side of his helmet. Dazed, he slammed into the ground.

"Go, Carmilla!" Laura cheered, the rest of the crowd on their feet doing the same.

Carmilla kicked the sword out of the knight's hand and he made no show of resistance. The flag went up in her favour and the crowd roared again. She raised her sword high in her air in victory, pulled her helmet off. She shook out her hair, breathing hard but not looking much worse for wear.

Laura's heart leapt at the sight. She quickly shuffled down the line of stands to meet Carmilla as she walked off the field of battle. She caught sight of Laura and tossed her helmet at her. Laura fumbled to catch it and followed her back to her tent, congratulating her.

The next three matches went just as well.

Danny's second opponent managed to nick her arm (Betty insisted Danny let her clean and bandaged it, claiming it'd be good practice, and Danny let her) but she felled him swiftly with a kick between the legs followed by a blow to the head. He'd been knocked unconscious and the crowd had cheered for her, too.

Carmilla was, unsurprisingly, one of the best competitors. The crowd loved her and all of her fights were quick and decisive. Laura had been nervous (again) during her third match, when she was to face a lumbering mountain of a man, but being nearly twice her size was not to his advantage. She'd been so much quicker and had used his size against him and in the end, he'd laughed and congratulated her on toppling him without so much as initiating a single attack.

The young man that Laura had suspected of magic continued a no longer surprising winning streak. The second fight confirmed his magic to Laura when his adversary's sword mysteriously flew out of their hand on what would likely have been a finishing strike. After his third fight, the other knight having flown backwards through the air from a kick that almost certainly did not have enough power behind it to do so, Laura considered confronting him.

"I don't know, L," LaFontaine said when she asked what they thought, finger on one page of a book, other hand underlining something they'd written in another. "He hasn't killed anybody or anything, right?"

"No, but-" Laura hesitated, not quite wanting to say that he made her uneasy, "-he could get caught!"

"I'm sure he knows the risks if he's doing magic here," LaFontaine said, still not looking up.

"But _we're_ doing magic here," Laura muttered with a frown. "I mean, I know it's cheating and he shouldn't even be fighting with magic, but...LaF, he's like us."

Finally, LaFontaine looked up.

"You don't know that, though," they said. "Have you stopped to consider why he's fighting?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean not everyone thinks of magic the way you and I do. It has a way of corrupting people. I hate to say it, but for all you know, he could just be using it as a tool to gain notoriety for his own purposes. He wouldn't be the first. Why else would he enter such a popular tournament?"

Laura's discomfort returned. As much as she wanted to think he could be set on a better path, that he was one of them and they couldn't just turn their back on one of their own, the cold look he'd had after that last fight did seem to lend itself to what LaFontaine was saying. He'd grown more bold as the tournament wore on and he did seem to be feeding off the crowd's attention.

LaFontaine watched Laura for another moment as if expecting her to argue or say she was going to talk to him anyway (she considered it). When she didn't, they just shook their head and returned to their book.

Laura couldn't help thinking as she left them to it that there was a connection between their sour mood and intense focus on their studies, and Perry's excessively chipper cleaning earlier in the week.

-

Laura hurried into Carmilla's tent just a bit late the next day. Her fight was after the young wizard's - for Laura was sure now that he was indeed using magic - and she was waiting for Laura to get her into her armour.

They could hear the distant "ooh" and "aah" of the crowd and Laura was distracted by the cheers as she fastened Carmilla's armour. This did not go unnoticed, it seemed, as Carmilla grabbed her hand as she tugged on a strap at her shoulder. Laura's heart skipped and she looked up with a guilty expression to see Carmilla looking less than amused.

"Somewhere you'd rather be, creampuff?" she asked.

"Nope," Laura replied, popping the "p" sound and trying to seem as cheerful as possible.

"Then maybe lay off the buckles. I'd like to actually feel my arm," Carmilla said.

_Oops._ Laura loosened the offending strap, stepping back to let Carmilla roll out her shoulder. She made a fist, let it go, and wiggled her fingers, trying to get feeling back in them. Content that she once again had circulation, she nodded and Laura followed her out of the tent just in time to see the loser of the last match being hauled away on a stretcher.

Laura froze as the soldiers jogged by toward the medical tent and she realised the person on the stretcher wasn't breathing. Blood splattered on the chestplate shone in the light. Laura only just caught the terrified expression still in place as they passed.

The wizard was just exiting the arena, flushed with victory, not in the least bothered by whatever had just happened. He was heading to the storeroom and Laura paused as Carmilla continued to the arena.

Making a split second decision, Laura decided to investigate while he was busy, rather than watch Carmilla's match. Most of the competitors in the tournament were staying at the tavern not far from the arena and Laura ran the entire way there. The bartender recognised her and didn't question when she asked for the room number of the knight she described.

She tried the door and was pleased to find it unlocked - and empty. It was clear the room was shared, but the tavern was nearly completely deserted with everyone watching the tournament. She still didn't want to linger, and hastily went through the belongings scattered about the room.

Nothing indicated magic. Disappointed she didn't have any confirmation or proof, if it should come to that, she quickly made her way back to the arena. She'd hoped to catch the end of Carmilla's match, but arrived only in time to meet her on her way back to her tent.

She had, of course, won again. If she'd noticed Laura's absence, she made no mention of it. Though she was quiet as Laura removed her armour.

Laura made a point to be there for Carmilla's last round before the semi-finals, cheering loudly for her. Her opponent was quick and aggressive and it was a much longer match than all her previous ones. Laura watched anxiously and was relieved when it finally ended, the knight worn out from trying to bring Carmilla down quickly and ending up with his face in the dirt.

Laura greeted Carmilla happily afterwards at the board marking which knights fought whom in each round. Her heart sank when she saw who Carmilla would be fighting in the semi-finals.

"Well, well. Looks like it'll be me and your white knight against each other tomorrow," Carmilla said and Laura felt that nervous flutter again at her smirk.

The young wizard had also advanced. He hadn't killed his opponent this time, but they had been badly injured and he was getting less and less subtle.

A part of Laura hoped he would get caught. The other part of her knew she'd have to say something soon, even if she couldn't find proof. She couldn't just let him keep hurting people - with magic, no less - and whichever of her friends advanced in this next match would be in danger.

-

The sun was high and unpleasantly warm above the arena the next day. Laura stood in the stands, waiting for Danny and Carmilla's fight to begin. She'd wished Danny luck before she helped Carmilla into her armour as usual.

The Queen sat regally at the head of the stadium, above everyone else, looking supremely unbothered by it all. Danny's family was across from Laura; Danny had pointed them out. She'd joked about the bored expression her sister would be wearing if she had to sit through a bunch of tinmen waving sharp metal sticks at each other, picking at her sleeve, and so their mother had stayed home to watch her. Everyone else had turned up for support, though.

Laura wasn't sure who she wanted to win. Really, she was just hoping they'd make it through the tournament without getting hurt.

Finally, after what felt like an hour, the contestants stepped out into the arena. Danny held her hand out and Carmilla reluctantly shook it.

//

Fighting Carmilla in the arena was a whole different world to all those training sessions. On the rare occasion she'd joined in sparring, it had been with lazy instruction and casual movements. Here, she was completely focused, all precise, graceful action.

She darted in, closing the distance, elbow connecting with Danny's face. Danny felt the blood spurt from her nose but she had no time to deal with it, bringing her sword down to clatter and scrape against Carmilla's blade aimed at her side, out of range of her shield. Carmilla smirked and Danny realised, too little too late, that fighting the person that had taught her so much of what she knew was unlikely to end well.

(The thought crossed her mind then that maybe Carmilla was teaching them all with a secret flaw that she could exploit if it ever came down to it.)

Carmilla raised her blade higher, forcing Danny's up toward her own neck, then twisted to the side, turning into Danny rather than away. She dropped her sword back down, freeing it from Danny's and causing Danny to stumble forward from the effort to keep the blade from her neck (clever, using the height difference to her advantage) suddenly being redirected, elbow now slamming into Danny's ribs.

Danny tried to correct her mistake in letting Carmilla close but she was slightly slower, Carmilla's footwork superiour, and Carmilla tripped her up, blade in the small space between pieces of armour. If she'd wanted, Danny thought, she could have killed her right then and there. Danny was almost surprised she didn't, instead letting her fall to the ground relatively uninjured.

She wasn't about to just give up, though - she still had a sword in her hand, her dad was in the audience cheering louder than anybody for her, her little brother had said he wanted to be like her when he grew up (she'd ruffled his hair and for once he'd let her), and she wasn't going to let them down.

She'd seen Carmilla's fights; she rolled to the side and battered Carmilla's blade away with her own to avoid being pinned. Danny thought Carmilla looked mildly impressed by that, right before her boot crashing into Danny's temple and the world spun.

The next thing she was aware of, she was on a cot in a tent. The sun was still overhead, brightening the material and casting the enclosed space in a red glow. She must have blacked out.

She tried to sit up and felt mildly nauseous, her side protesting and her head pounding. A gentle hand on her shoulder pushed her back down and she didn't object. Her eyes were screwed shut and she willed the vertigo to pass. When it finally did, she cautiously cracked one eye open.

Betty and Kirsch were standing over her looking worried. A physician Danny didn't recognise was mixing some kind of salve. Danny opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Laura bursting into the tent.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay? I saw you go down and it looked pretty bad so I came down as soon as I could. Are you okay?" Laura rushed out, not seeming to require oxygen.

Mildly humiliated, Danny ignored the pain to prop herself up on her elbows. Laura looked a bit panicked at that and Danny assured her, "I'm fine. It probably looked worse than it feels."

"Dude, she's right, it looked pretty bad," Kirsch interjected.

Danny glared at him and said, "Oh shut up, Wilson."

"I told you not to call me that-"

"Then don't be an idiot-"

"We were worried about you!"

"Don't be, _Wilson_ ," Danny shot back.

Maybe it was her anger at Kirsch distracting her, but she was already feeling better. She was still a bit embarrassed the girl she liked had seen her get taken down so quickly and was worried over a few bruises (and possibly a concussion), but Carmilla could have done far worse. Danny wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating her again.

//

Laura left Danny's tent only somewhat calmer than she'd flown in feeling. Danny was already up and arguing with Kirsch and it was a relief that Carmilla hadn't done any real damage. But it also meant Carmilla was still in the tournament with the wizard.

Just as Laura had made the decision to warn her, Carmilla pulled her aside to tell her, "Mother is holding a feast in the castle tonight for the finalists. If you don't want me to die of boredom, you'll be there."

"What a nice way to invite me, Carmilla, thanks," Laura replied.

Carmilla rolled her eyes, the tiniest hint of a smile pulling at the corner of her lips. Probably amused her sarcasm seemed to be rubbing off on Laura.

"Then consider it an order, if it makes you feel any better," Carmilla said.

Just as quickly as she'd appeared at Laura's side, however, she vanished again and left Laura with an uneasy knot in the pit of her stomach at the thought of sharing a meal with the wizard. It'd be a fine last opportunity to observe him and try to talk to him, though. Laura still held out hope he could be reasoned with.

If not, she'd just have to warn Carmilla this evening.

-

Laura hadn't been wrong. While it was a lively affair, dinner in the castle that evening was uncomfortable, to say the least. It was not helped by the fact that she was a servant, not a guest, and spent most of the night hovering at Carmilla's shoulder.

A good number of higher ranking knights - most of whom Laura knew by name by now - were in attendance. Danny was, surprisingly, sat at the far end of one of the long tables stretched across the dining hall. She didn't look as joyous about this as Laura would have expected, but Laura's attention was too focused on the wizard to strike up a conversation with her.

He fit in well. He was charming, well-spoken and respectful. He'd proven himself an able fighter. Only Carmilla seemed displeased at (or, at the very least, indifferent to) his presence and Laura couldn't be sure Carmilla wasn't just unhappy about her _own_ presence at the banquet.

"So. Do you think you can beat my darling daughter in the finals?" the Queen asked of him.

"She is quite a capable fighter, Your Majesty. I hope only to be a worthy opponent," he answered.

Laura could practically hear Carmilla's effort to keep from rolling her eyes or gagging.

"You should remain in Silas after the tournament, regardless of the outcome. We could always use more knights like you," the Queen offered and Will, who had spent much of the evening leaned in to converse with him, enthralled by the man, jerked his head up to look between the two.

"I'd be honoured," the wizard said.

Laura's heart sank and she didn't need to see Carmilla's face to know she was grimacing. She leaned further back in her seat, the old wood creaking. She held up her goblet and snapped her fingers at Laura. Laura scowled as she poured more wine.

Laura's chance to speak to the wizard finally came nearly an hour later when he excused himself. Carmilla remained behind with Will and most of the other knights and handful of competitors. The Queen had already left but insisted the festivities not end on her behalf, so the room was still busy enough that Laura could sneak away long enough to chat.

"Hey, wait up!" she called to the young man in an otherwise deserted corridor.

Frowning, he stopped and turned to her. His eyes narrowed and Laura knew then that he'd noticed her watching all this time. So much for subtlety.

"You're going to get caught if you use magic in the finals," Laura said when she was near enough to not be overheard.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied casually, shrugging. "Magic is against the law."

"I saw what you did. You can talk to me about it," Laura said. Hesitating for a moment, she took a breath and added, "I know what it's like to be special, to be stronger than everyone around you, and have to pretend you're nothing. To hide who you really are. But you're just going to make things worse if you do this."

"Really. Say I did know what you mean. Say this is how I've chosen to gain fame and fortune. Why would I stop now, so close to the end?"

"If someone else - if _Carmilla_ gets hurt-"

"You'll what, tell the guards on me? You're a servant. I'm a knight that's just been offered a position in Silas," he sneered, "You think you can relate so much? I could kill her and just as easily tell them _you_ are using magic. Whose word do you think they'll believe?"

Without waiting for a response, he turned on his heel and swept down the corridor, around a corner and out of sight.

Laura felt a chill rush down her spine. She should have intervened sooner. She should have tried harder to find proof. Maybe she could've stopped him hurting those other knights. She'd just wanted so badly to believe he was like her and LaF...

"There you are. Where did you run off to so quietly?" Carmilla said when Laura returned to the dining hall ten minutes later.

"Um. I need to talk to you," Laura mumbled, then glanced around the slowly dissipating crowd. "In private."

Carmilla's expression changed, instantly becoming serious. Laura wondered if she looked as pale and shaken as she felt. She must have, for Carmilla didn't even bother wrapping up her conversation with Will and some dark haired knight Laura thought she'd seen around Silas before standing.

Ignoring Will's protest at her rudeness (distantly, Laura wondered how he could even be surprised by that from her at this point), Carmilla strolled out of the dining hall. Her pace was relaxed enough that Laura, even distracted, didn't have to struggle to keep up as they climbed the staircase to Carmilla's rooms.

She closed the door behind Laura, stripping her boots and cape as she asked, "Well, what's got you so upset, buttercup?"

"He's using magic," Laura blurted. She hadn't meant to be so blunt, but the entire way up she couldn't think of a better way to put it.

"What? Who's using magic?"

"The knight. In the tournament. He's been cheating and you've got to fight him but I think he might try to kill you and I know you're good but I think maybe you should withdraw-"

"Easy, cupcake, slow down," Carmilla interjected, hands on Laura's shoulders to get her to take a seat, to no resistance. "Do you have proof of any of this?"

"No, but I swear it's true. I saw him do it, more than once, you have to believe me!"

"Even if I did, you know I can't withdraw," Carmilla said.

"Can't you tell your mother? Maybe postpone the tournament a day or two until we can prove it?"

"Right, because my mother is so sympathetic? Look, I don't like the guy, but that doesn't mean he's using magic-"

"He is!"

"-and there's nothing I can do without proof."

"All those close calls and lucky breaks in the arena weren't coincidence. He killed one of his opponents already and the other one still hasn't recovered. I'm telling you, you're in danger!" Laura objected again, jumping back to her feet.

Sighing, Carmilla turned away to continue changing.

"I'm always in danger, creampuff. The best I can do is promise to be careful. Now go home and relax, it's been a long day."

"Please, Carm, just- trust me!" Laura appealed, hand on Carmilla's upper arm.

Carmilla's brow creased, looking back at her.

"I do trust you," she said softly, though the words seemed to confuse her.

Laura released Carmilla's arm and stepped back. A heavy, silent moment passed between them as they stared at each other. Laura was still breathing hard from her arguing, heart still pounding painfully in her chest at the thought of what could happen tomorrow. Carmilla looked conflicted.

It was Laura that moved first. She turned to go, muttering a quiet, "See you tomorrow, Carmilla."

As the door closed behind her, she could swear she heard an equally subdued, "Goodnight, sweetheart."

-

Laura felt sick. She hadn't managed to sleep. She'd spent half the night tossing and turning, kicking the blankets off, then dragging them back up to curl under them for a few minutes before repeating the process.

The other half of the night was spent desperately searching the spellbook for something, _anything_ , that could help. She'd made her choice when she went to Carmilla with the truth. She'd turn her back on one of her own kind if it meant doing the right thing.

She hadn't found anything. Nothing that could reveal his magic without revealing her own. Nothing that would give Carmilla an edge, to balance the scales, without it looking like _she_ was the one cheating. Laura had never felt so useless in her life.

A part of her had realised, sometime around night, that the only way to change how magic was treated was to change Carmilla's view of it. She was the future ruler, she could change thing. But if it went badly today, magic would just continue to be seen as something evil and dangerous. All for one man's ambitions.

"Hey, L. You okay?" LaFontaine asked when they met up with her and Betty on the way down to the arena.

Laura shook her head but didn't say anything. She'd considered asking them for help, but she knew where they stood on the matter. It wasn't like they could do anything either, at this point. They seemed to understand her concern, though.

Before they could offer consolation or an "I told you so," she broke away from them and Betty with a wave to head for the tents. She'd neglected to bring Carmilla breakfast, knowing she'd either find her way down to the kitchens - or Perry - on her own, or would be skipping breakfast herself.

Sure enough, Carmilla was already in her tent. Her first layer of armour was already on and she was working on a buckle at her wrist when Laura entered. She looked up in surprise at her.

"Hey," Laura said.

"Hey," Carmilla echoed. "I was starting to think you wouldn't show, cupcake."

"I'm your servant. Of course I'm here," Laura replied, attempting to sound normal.

Skillfully ignoring the elephant in the room, Carmilla tossed her other gauntlet to Laura and said, "Perry is a terrible wake up call, you know. She all but kicked me awake this morning. I think she'd literally drag me out of bed, sheets and all, if I wasn't royalty."

"I don't think she'd care if you slept to mid-afternoon if you weren't royalty," Laura countered, tightening the uneven strap at Carmilla shoulder.

"I don't know, she's got control issues to rival my mother's. And she's the Queen."

It truly did feel remarkably normal, until it was actually time to leave for the match. Carmilla's good mood seemed to drain away the closer it got. By the time they exited the tent, she was stiff and as pale as Laura imagined she was.

"Good luck," Laura said again.

Rather than a sarcastic remark, Carmilla just nodded. That concerned Laura more than anything else had.

Clouds had rolled in shortly after Laura had left home with Betty that morning and it was starting to sprinkle. It would have been a relief from the heat, had it not just made it muggy instead. Despite this, the crowd was as large and loud as ever.

Laura didn't bother trying to find a place in the stands. She lingered in the archway leading into the arena that the contestants went through. As the princess's personal servant, she had enough right to be there that nobody paid her much mind.

From here she'd have a decent view of the fight, while being out of sight herself. She hoped.

Carmilla caught sight of her from the centre of the crowd, sword arm up, crimson cape billowing in the light breeze. Laura shot her a thumbs up. Carmilla gave her a tight smile.

The young knight entered from the other side of the arena. His armour looked new, solid and highly polished. The crowd cheered for him, as well; the underdog that had made it to the finals to fight the princess herself. It would be quite a story, had Laura not known the truth.

Laura was the one to retrieve Carmilla's cape when she removed it this time. Both fighters put their helmets on and shook hands. The signal went up for the fight to begin when Laura disappeared back to the now empty archway.

True to her word, Carmilla's movements were cautious. She'd always held a casual grace about her, but now she was like a caged panther. Her muscles were tight, ready to strike. Eyes sharp and clear, attentive to every sign of motion.

The wizard seemed to see it, too. He looked reluctant to attack first and Laura couldn't blame him. Conditions were getting worse, occasional breaks in the clouds would cast bright sunlight on them, reflecting blindingly off their armour. Then the sun would slide back behind cloud cover again, the rain slowly loosening the packed dirt, not quite making it mud but certainly making it slippery.

Carmilla was patient. Laura had known from the start that she was disciplined, but patient wasn't a word she'd have used until she saw her fight. Now, however, it was clear she'd wait however long it took.

Evidently her opponent was getting as restless as the audience; he stepped in taking an experimental swing at Carmilla. She swatted his blade away easily with her own and side-stepped, not allowing herself to be backed up where she could get cornered. He moved in again, not giving her a moment to regroup, swinging down much harder and forcing her to block with her shield this time.

He swung again and she raised her shield and kicked out. Laura saw a moment too late the way the ground shifted and slid from under Carmilla as the wizard's gaze flicked downward. Unable to catch her balance while blocking another swing and with one foot already off the ground, she fell backward but made sure to take him down with her, catching the back of his leg and sweeping his feet from under him.

Pinwheeling, the wizard's back hit the ground with a splash. Carmilla rolled and hopped back to her feet. Returning the earlier tactic, she brought her sword down before he could properly prepare to defend himself. The clash of metal on reinforced wood could be heard even from the archway and Laura could see the way the strike jolted the knight's shoulder.

The thought that he wasn't actually a knight at all crossed Laura's mind again. She'd suspected, but now, remembering the lessons Carmilla had given her in shield work, she noticed that he held his shield wrong. He was absorbing more of the impact than was necessary; Carmilla's most basic lesson had been teaching Laura how to deflect, when she'd struggled with the way each attack reverberated painfully up her arm.

Carmilla noticed too. She repeated the attack and he tried to intercept with his own strike but she was quicker, meeting the blow so that it glanced off her shield and she maintained her momentum. He grunted at the impact, his grip on his shield faltering.

Irritated now, he again resorted to magic. Laura was ready for it this time. The air crackled with energy, the hilt of Carmilla's sword glowing a bright, hot red. It steamed in the light rain-showers and Laura attempted to counter the spell, though not quite quickly enough. Carmilla's grip had loosened on the burning metal just enough for the wizard to take a sharp swing at it and knock it from her grasp.

He scrambled to his feet. Carmilla dove for her sword, which refused to move from the ground, as if impossibly heavy. The wizard swiped at her again and she ducked out of the way rather than continue blocking. He stumbled with his impetus and she kicked him in the back.

Whirling around, he swung again, this time catching her side and the edge of her shield. She used his momentum against him, following the motion through with her shield to bring his sword arm to an awkward angle. He had to stumble back and Carmilla again reached for her sword, which Laura had been attempting to make lighter without compromising the composition of the blade itself.

It seemed to work, as Carmilla picked it up easily and, eye never quite having left him, turned again to face her opponent. She unleashed a flurry of three quick strikes and he managed to block each with his shield, stepping back each time to try to lessen the impact of each hit, only to wind up back against the wall.

One of his earlier matches had gone similarly, but Laura's warning to Carmilla seemed to work; it was like she'd gone over everything he'd done in her mind the night before. Rather than fall for the bait and end up with her sword stuck in the wood railing, she stepped back to give him space.

Cautiously, he skirted around her, clearly not trusting her simply backing off. He was right not to - she moved in for a low blow, sword aimed at his side just below his shield. It was risky, but he lacked the technique or speed to counter and knock her sword from her hand again. Her blade landed solidly against his side and he yelped at what would likely be quite a nasty bruise.

Not even trying for subtlety anymore, he leapt back as the ground sank, Carmilla's boot quickly being swallowed up by mud. Again trying to counter it, Laura fought to keep the ground soft and malleable enough for Carmilla to slip her foot back out. The wizard's brow furrowed with concentration underneath his helmet as he, in turn, struggled to continue the spell.

When it didn't work, he looked up. His eyes caught Laura's. She knew she'd been found out, but his distraction paid off for Carmilla. She struck again and he only just saw the motion out of the corner of his eyes to parry. He was unprepared for the shield bash that followed and managed to bring his own shield up just enough to avoid being hit, but with her putting her weight into it, Carmilla effectively had him pinned.

Shoving back as best he could, the wizard staggered back a few steps, barely catching his balance and wincing. He reached up to pull his helmet off, breathless, face red and shiny with sweat as the sun peeked out from the clouds once again. He tossed it aside and Carmilla followed suit. She pulled the bit of leather from where she kept it wrapped around her upper arm to tie her hair back into a messy ponytail.

The clouds were starting to part in earnest now, a clear patch of blue opening up over the stadium. The rain finally subsided entirely, though the ground was still damp and soft. The dirt was so heavily packed in places - presumably from the fighting - that it was still solid and even, however. Carmilla, ever watchful of her opponent, moved to one such spot.

Following just as carefully, the wizard, too, returned to the centre of the arena. They sized each other up. The fight had gone on long enough they were both looking a bit worn. Laura was at an obscure enough angle that it was difficult to see, but she thought she saw Will looking a bit panicked in the stands above her.

Deciding it was time to end things, the wizard was again the first to move. He charged, thrusting his sword directly at Carmilla's throat. Carmilla raised her shield but the blade pierced it, nicking the newly revealed skin at her neck.

"No!" Laura shouted, voice lost in the crowd.

Doing the only thing she could think to, she focused on the shield, on the solidity of the castle walls and the steel of Carmilla's eyes when her mother had made it perfectly clear she expected Carmilla to win without exception. With a centimeter to spare, the shield was made solid again.

Blade stuck in the wood, the wizard jerked his sword back to try to get it loose, going so far as to put one foot on it for leverage. Carmilla let the shield go with a quirked brow and the force with which he'd pulled caused him to stumble to the ground again. She held her own blade over him, offering him surrender.

He refused to take it. He batted her sword away with his shield, placing that same hand on the edge of her shield. It sagged as if melting rubber and he pulled his sword free. He attempted to stand and Carmilla kicked him back down.

Glaring up at her, the wizard gave up all pretense of a fair fight. Laura felt that same electricity in the air but was helpless to counter without an idea of what he would try. She didn't know what that was until she saw Carmilla step back, the wizard chanting under his breath, and the snakes on his shield beginning to shift and writhe against the plain yellow background.

Realising this was her best shot at exposing him to the entire crowd, rather than just Carmilla (he'd already done that all by himself and he wasn't likely to let her live after seeing it), Laura thought back to the animation spells in one of the books LaFontaine had been reading. She hadn't studied it particularly well herself, but if she could force his spell to go a step further...Well, Carmilla would still have to deal with a few snakes. Laura hoped she didn't have any phobias and was as skilled as her arrogance implied.

Gaze locked onto the snakes, Laura muttered the words she'd read but never tested along with the spell the young man was casting. The crowd gasped as one snake slithered right out of the shield to the ground, circling them, the other darting straight at Carmilla. She raised her arm to protect her neck and the snake bit down.

Laura cringed. She'd hoped she'd imagined the pained noise Carmilla made and the sound of crunching metal but the way Carmilla gritted her teeth told her otherwise. Blood leaked out from the holes in the armour, splattering on the already murky ground.

Disregarding this, Carmilla held her trembling, injured arm out, snake still latched on, and made a clean swipe at the snake with her sword in her other hand. Glad she hadn't eaten, Laura watched Carmilla pry the severed snake head from her arm and drop it to the ground, eye on the other snake that was drawing ever nearer.

The wizard had clearly lost control and was shouting, "What are you doing? I didn't summon you! You were only meant to attack!"

The crowd was just shy of full-blown panic now, several screams ringing out and audience members getting to their feet. A glance upward, however, showed Laura the Queen frowning slightly but unmoved. Will looked somewhere between relieved (really? Magic snakes, and he was _relieved_?) and rather faint.

Laura didn't have time to wonder about the oddities of the royal family. The second snake was closing on Carmilla alone now and Laura looked back in time to see it strike. She held her breath, attention narrowing to the snake and willing time to slow enough for Carmilla to react.

Whether luck was on Laura's side or Carmilla was simply fast enough, Carmilla raised her blade to meet the snake just as it pounced, slicing it in two. It wasn't a pleasant sight, but at least Carmilla wasn't hurt. She turned then to the wizard, sword to his chest.

He reacted in what he probably thought was self-defence, hand raising as if to knock her back, but he'd expended so much energy the spell was weak and Carmilla's reaction time was quicker. Her blade slid between the gaps in his armour.

Carmilla's lips next to the young wizard's ear moved but Laura couldn't hear what she was saying. She withdrew, steel stained crimson. Her opponent fell, lifeless eyes on the clear sky.

There was a moment of silence before confused applause broke out. Carmilla seemed as surprised as Laura felt as she looked up, away from the young man. The Queen was on her feet now, clapping and nodding her approval. Will stumbled up beside her, looking what Laura would have called bewildered on anybody else.

"Your champion, Silas!" the Queen announced.

Carmilla took an awkward bow, cradling her arm. Still in shock but pleased their princess was again victorious, the crowd roared and became at once a sea of royal colours. The Queen cut her congratulatory speech short and Carmilla hurried out of the arena as soon as was acceptable.

The second she was back under the archway Laura ran to her, throwing her arms around Carmilla's neck in celebration and relief. Her heart felt ready to burst. Guilt about the wizard's death lingered under the surface, but Carmilla was safe and solid and here. The rest could wait.

Carmilla tensed, still somewhat out of breath and hurt, but relaxed into the hug after a moment. She hesitantly wrapped her uninjured arm around Laura to return the embrace.

"Your Highness!" A knight interrupted, sprinting towards them.

They jumped apart as he neared, putting a perhaps larger than necessary gap between them, but the knight didn't even seem to notice Laura's presence. He doubled over when he got to them, hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

Carmilla, annoyed, prompted, "Well? What is it?"

Still panting, the knight answered, "There-was a prison break, Highness. That-witch we suspected of working with the assassin a few months ago. She-she broke out. We think she's headed for the druids in the north."

With a sigh and groan of something that sounded suspiciously like "if it's not one thing, it's another," Carmilla turned to Laura.

"Buckle up, creampuff. You wanted to know where I've been going when I leave Silas, looks like you're about to find out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry again for such a long wait. Action isn't exactly my forte, either.
> 
> Comments, kudos and general feedback are, as always, very much appreciated, and you can find me on [tumblr](http://kvrnsteins.tumblr.com) if you'd like to chat!


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